A Day Off
by Zanmat0
Summary: A closer look into Snake's relationship with Quiet, through thick and thin.
1. Something New

**This just kind of popped into my head while I was messing around in the game itself. I love this pairing.**

* * *

Her first attempt at getting closer, definitely out of pure curiosity, had not ended well. Snake had fallen asleep in the ACC, giving her a new look at the grizzled soldier. He looked…vulnerable, for once. His hands rested lazily in his lap, and his head rested against the cold metal wall behind him. Quiet frowned slightly; that didn't look very comfortable. The prosthetic arm's fingers would twitch a bit every so often, and Snake's expression would tighten for a few seconds before he relaxed, a deep sigh escaping him. The sniper cocked her head a bit, wondering what he was dreaming about. "It's not the first time."

Pequod turned from his seat in the cockpit and offered a small smile. "You don't have to look at me like that. I trust you just as much as the Boss."

To his relief, she relaxed, nodding once and leaning forward with a silent request for him to continue. The pilot let his voice sink to a low murmur, motioning Quiet closer with his free hand. "I think he has nightmares. I'm not sure if you knew about MSF, but…he put his heart into that organization. To see it all go down like that? Damn shame."

Quiet looked away to glance at Snake, who was still slumbering quietly. "He never really let it go. Whenever he naps in here, he mumbles things. Can't hear them, but you can see that he blames himself."

Pequod turned and settled back into his seat, pressing switches and adjusting the helicopter's flight towards Mother Base. "We'll head home for today. You should get some rest too, huh?"

Quiet hummed a short note and lay back on her seat, crossing one leg over the other and resting her hands behind her head. A few seconds passed before she sat up again, gazing concernedly at Snake. Silently padding over to him, she crouched next to his knees and leaned from side to side to get a good look at his face. Quickly making up her mind, she stood and leaned in closer; second-guessing herself all the while. Her face stopped a few inches short of his, and she bit her lip with a silent curse. Sighing quietly, she stood higher and gently pressed her lips to his forehead. The gesture ended quickly, but, as Quiet sat back in her seat with a soft blush, she saw Snake's posture relax. An unconscious smile showed itself for a second as Quiet watched with no shortage of interest.

The helicopter touching down on the Medical platform helipad jolted the Boss out of his slumber, with Pequod mouthing an apology to Quiet when she glared at him. "Quiet?"

The Boss was awake. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his good hand, shaking his head slightly to focus his vision. "I, uh…did you…?"

He cleared his throat as his partner stared innocently at him, so he instead decided to shout at the pilot of his home away from home. "Pequod, what are we doing back at base?"

"Sorry, Boss. Have to perform maintenance. The rotors were acting up while we were in the air."

Snake sighed and nodded his consent. "…Fine. I'm heading to one of the cots in the Med Building. Get some shut-eye when you're done, too."

"Thanks, Boss."

Glancing once at Quiet, he grunted gruffly and heaved himself out of the helicopter, his padded feet hitting the ground silently. She followed close behind, but she only lingered for a few seconds before cloaking and wandering back to her cell. Snake briefly considered following after; a stifled yawn cut off any notion of going through with it. Making a mental note to check on her later, he made his own way to the infirmary.

Sleep wasn't something that was part of Snake's daily schedule, but exhaustion had eventually caught up to the Diamond Dogs' leader. Throwing off the heavy overcoat and the tactical harness of his fatigues, he smoothed down the black shirt and tugged at the collar in a small effort to cool off. Lying as comfortably as he could on one of the spare cots that lay in the far side of the infirmary, he closed his eyes for a few moments before groaning irritably. He reached up to his face and pulled off the eyepatch that protected his damaged eye, only briefly lamenting its loss of function. Breathing deep, Snake settled back into the cot.

Little did he know that Quiet was watching as he slowly drifted off, holding a small can of soda and a boxed sandwich she had 'borrowed' from the Mess Hall. When he woke up, she wanted to be sure he had some kind of nourishment before he inevitably made a mad dash back to the ACC to jump into the next mission. Leaving them both on the cabinet next to the wall, she cast about for some kind of way to tell him to eat later. Finding a small clipboard in the dimly lit room, she silently snatched it up and pondered how to get his attention. An imaginary lightbulb lit up as she scribbled down a quick sketch, placing it next to the sleeping soldier's head and making her way out of the room. Snake muttered something and turned in his sleep; Quiet smiled slightly as she looked back at him from the doorway before stepping out and letting the door shut behind her.

The next morning, Snake awoke slowly, turning ninety degrees and promptly bumping his nose against a hard surface. Grunting in annoyance, he sat up and glared daggers at the clipboard in his hand. A surprisingly elegant picture of a butterfly flying to the right with a trail of black following it pointed his gaze to the wall. Blowing out a breath, he allowed a rare smile at the gifts that awaited him. "Huh…didn't have to bring me breakfast."

Opening the soda first, he drank and draped his gear over his shoulder, intent on heading to the cell on the Medical Platform's ground floor. He polished off the sandwich as he walked, stopping at the small storage case he had ordered to be placed next to the stairway leading to Quiet's cell. "Thank you, R&D."

Reaching inside, he pulled out a small canteen filled with cool water. Holding the soda with one hand and the canteen in the other, he walked down the stairs and peeked around the corner to check if his partner was awake. She was. She sat up from her cot and nodded once in greeting, before letting a slight expression of surprise cross her face as how relaxed he look compared to the geared up, rough-and-tumble soldier she was used to seeing pore over maps and data in the ACC. "Morning. I'm guessing you left the, er…the food and the drawing?"

The sniper shrugged in answering, further shocked by the grateful smile on her boss' face. "Thanks. I got you something, too. Mind stepping out?"

He didn't have to wait long, she phased out of the containment cell, standing a few feet away from him with her arms behind her back. He sat heavily on the floor, taking a sip from his soda and nodding a silent offer to her. Quiet hesitated for a second before sitting next to him, relaxing as she watched him taking his time with waking up. Snake grunted as he grasped the canteen, holding it out and waiting patiently. She looked between him and the canteen a few times before slowly reaching up and pushing his hand a little higher. Snake raised in eyebrow in question before chuckling in amusement. "You want me to do it?"

She nodded and smiled nervously, but she refused to back away as he popped the top off the small bottle. Holding it high above her head, he glanced at her one more time before slowly tipping the canteen and letting the water cascade down onto her. She froze for a second at the surprisingly cold water before relaxing and letting a sigh escape. Snake let a small grin cross his face at her contentment, stopping his ministrations to hand her the canteen to let her do it freely. Quiet accepted it and hummed happily as she doused herself every now and then while Snake took his time finishing his own drink. His iDroid remained silent; his message must have gotten through to his officers. Looks like it was going to be a slow day.

* * *

"This is a stupid idea."

"Letting the troops have a day off? I don't follow."

"We have to-"

"Get revenge. I get it. But if we're going at full throttle every day we're eventually going to burn out. 'Sides, you need a break. Maybe some coffee. And some sleep…Probably both."

Miller took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning irritably. "The Boss is taking the day off, anyway."

"…Fine. Make sure everyone knows. I'm…going to get some sleep."

"Good. And, uh…don't wear the glasses in bed, okay?"

"Shut up."

Ocelot shrugged, heading to the Command Platform to let the staff know; Big Boss had given the Diamond Dogs a day off.


	2. Better Than Before

"DD!"

The wolfdog barked happily, running over to Snake and promptly tackling him to the ground. The soldier broke character for a time, letting a grin cross his face as DD lapped at his face while he vigorously massaged his fur. Quiet watched mirthfully, not missing Snake's look that basically said "tell no one".

Quiet was shadowing Snake as he wandered around the various platforms of Mother Base, sampling the various activities the Boss took part in whenever he was home. It was surprising how a few hours of target practice and CQC training with recruits could pass by. As she was still a subject of debate among the staff, she remained cloaked, but it nothing to detract from her amusement. DD had finally released Snake, sitting and wagging almost his entire lower body enthusiastically as his master petted his ears one more time. A static noise burst from the base wide intercom and announced, " _All staff report to the Mess for dinner_."

Soldiers and scientists alike eagerly filed to the Mess Hall, leaving Snake, DD, and the still-cloaked Quiet. The former patted the dog, pointing to the Mess Hall entrance. "Ocelot should be there, he'll feed you. Go on."

The dog cocked his head to the side, offering a silent question. "I ate already. You can go ahead."

DD barked once and nuzzled against his knee before scampering off in search of his meal ticket. Quiet finally uncloaked, waving at Snake as he turned to face her. "There you are. Thought so."

She nodded and walked closer, admiring how Snake didn't back away out of fear or instinct. The past missions had established a strong bond between them, but there was always some kind of lingering question in the air that left the two baffled. But as such, they were still partners, friends, et cetera. Which gave her the liberty to poke his stomach and snatch the canteen from his belt.

"Wait- hey!"

Quiet had jumped to the top of one of the surrounding cranes, the sheer height of the machine forcing Snake to pull out his binoculars. Zooming in on where he assumed she'd landed, he saw her peek over the side. He had to raise his voice to make himself heard, attracting the attention of a few wandering soldiers. "What are you doing up there?"

The directional mic picked up a melody of humming, a different song from what he was used to hearing. Through the scope he saw he grin and flash a thumbs-up, opening the same hand to beckon insistently. "You want me to climb up the _crane_?"

A nod and a whistle, as if the sniper was calling the legendary soldier like he was a puppy. Groaning, he dropped his fatigues' top on the floor, his scope dropping on top of the pile. A quick warning was sent from the iDroid to the Base Development staff to shut down the crane he was apparently about to climb. Heaving himself up onto a solid handhold, Snake began his ascent up the metal spire. Sweat started to form on his brow as he alternated using his prosthetic and his normal hand to slowly but surely climb. Quiet was watching with no small amount of amusement and interest, her enhanced vision giving her a decent look at the well-toned Boss. It took him about ten more minutes before he hauled himself over the last metal obstacle. Quiet was laid out on top of the crane, taking in the soft sunlight and pretending to be asleep from how long he took.

Snake sat down next to her and grabbed his canteen back, wiping his forehead clean of sweat until an idea came to mind. Reaching into his leg holster, he pulled out the low-grade water pistol and checked the small bottle it used as ammunition. Smiling in satisfaction, he pointed it judiciously at her head. And pulled the trigger. A thin but definitely noticeable jet of water fired from the toy, both spraying and shocking Quiet at the same time. The girl spluttered and wiped some of the water off her face, trying to glare at Snake as he spun the pistol casually around his finger. "Whoops."

She vanished into the air, only to reappear behind him to snatch the pistol. Phasing away as he whirled around, she gave him a taste of his own medicine with a few shots from the pistol. What ensued after that was a frantic chase around the top of the broad crane, with many shots flying over the side or hitting their intended target. The two play-fought with a less dangerous form of CQC, and the pistol changed possession either from skill with weapons or because the previous owner didn't exactly care. Five minutes had passed before the water gun finally ran dry, and laughter still lingered in the air.

Still trying to stifle a chuckle, Snake sat down heavily, Quiet joining him soon after. The sun was just starting to take its leave to allow the moon to take the stage, so the view had become even more of a spectacle. Snake was thinking about catching up on his tapes while enjoying the sniper's company until he felt her head rest gently against his shoulder. Looking to her, he listened to a content sigh before relenting and leaving her be. To emulate the radio in her cell, he set the iDroid to play through the speakers, letting the tapes he found in his AO play freely and setting the device down next to his leg. The music played quietly, and the Boss found his arm hesitantly reaching up to rest around Quiet's shoulder. The touch remained light, so she could shake him off should she so desire, but she didn't; instead, she scooted a little bit closer and glanced at him just long enough to offer a warm smile. Snake returned the gesture with a half-smile, turning to face the setting sun and closing his eyes.

The two lingered about for a good while before they eventually decided to head back down. Quiet had an easier time, simply jumping off and landing gracefully. Snake took a riskier route, falling down but catching himself on handhold after handhold with a firm prosthetic grip. The descent was much faster than climbing the hunk of metal, so that was something. Their eyes met when he set foot back on the platform, but he averted his quickly when Quiet noticed a light blush dusting his cheeks. She tilted her head slightly before coming to a conclusion and grinning mischievously; the legendary Snake was as human as everyone else. Complete with bouts of social awkwardness. Walking closer, she clasped her hands behind her back and smiled innocently as Snake regarded her with caution. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the canteen he had offered her earlier and held it out. "This is for you. Could be useful when we're in the field."

Quiet took it carefully; her own cheeks warming as their fingers touched for a moment. Snake cleared his throat awkwardly as he said good night. "Get some rest. We're heading back out in the morning."

The sniper nodded and smiled one more time before cloaking, leaving Snake to listen to the sounds of her footsteps receding.

* * *

"Quiet."

His radio buzzed for a second before a familiar hum flowed through. Looking to the source through his directional mic, Quiet flashed a confident thumbs-up and focused again. Their target today was a Diamond Dog who had been captured by the Soviets. The prisoner in question was in a camp in the valley just near where the mansion where Snake rescued Code Talker was located. Their strategy was simple, almost like a game that the two had easily developed. Situated on either side, Snake and Quiet held their respective tranquilizer rifles, with the soldiers in the valley being the targets. Security was much tighter due to the fame of Diamond Dogs and the fact that the Boss refused to leave any soldier behind. "On my mark, fire at will."

A hum answered his order.

"…Go."

Placing his finger on the trigger, he exhaled slowly and pulled, the tranquilizer whistling through the air and dropping a watch tower guard. Quiet followed suit, the two alternating shots to make time to load a new dart and take aim. Within minutes, the guard post was cleared, and Snake was scanning for new recruits as Quiet stretched languidly. Snake unwittingly let his binocular focus wander a bit, accidently landing on his partner. Forcing his gaze away, he noticed a particularly resilient soldier try to force himself to his feet. Diving off of his perch and landing with a neat roll, he waved Quiet off as she readied her rifle. Sprinting forward, Snake landed a quick one-two punch, skirting around to his back and hooking a Fulton balloon onto the back of his target's belt. Ducking into one of the tents as the soldier's shout of dismay faded away, Snake crouched down and shook the prisoner he found. He recognized him as one of his earliest recruits, hefting him over his soldiers and walking out of the tent. "Thanks, Boss. I was…worried for a second there. Did, uh…did Quiet come along?"

"…Yeah. She helped clear the place out."

"Haha…thank her for me, will ya?"

"Will do."

Hooking a Fulton onto the unlucky Dog, Snake watched as the soldier disappeared with a triumphant shout. "Pequod, we're leaving. Meet us at these coordinates."

"Roger."

It didn't take long for Pequod to arrive. Snake boarded first, but Quiet waited until the chopper was beginning to take off before leaping in after him. As they departed from the zone, Snake scrolled through the iDroid's menus and authorized some new platforms to be built while doing is best to ignore Quiet making herself comfortable. It took his a few minutes to realize she had fallen asleep, the Diamond Dogs jacket that hung off the pilot's seat being used as a crude blanket. Snake sighed, reaching forward to take her hands and put them in a proper sleeping position. As she hummed softly, he lingered over her for a beat before leaning down and kissing her cheek. Sitting back in his seat, he started one of the tapes regarding the PF's of Africa as he gazed at the map pasted to the roof of the chopper. "Thanks."

No one heard what he murmured under his breath, so no one knew if he was passing on the sentiments of his soldier or if the Boss himself was thanking Quiet for her service. His played the tape a little louder and focused; there was still much work to be done.


	3. A Friendly Competition

"Fire."

Quiet exhaled slowly and pulled the trigger, a dart whistling through the air and dropping the first target. Snake took care of the second with his Wisp arm, pulling the helpless soldier towards him and leading the momentum into a hefty throw. The iDroid relayed that the outpost was clear with a sharp chirp. Snake scanned the surrounding cliffs with his scope, intent on trying to find Quiet without asking for a guide; something the sniper found somewhat amusing. When his sight finally fell on her, she smiled at him while masking her surprise that he had found her much quicker than she thought. Furthering her shock, he smiled back and mimicked how she would give a thumbs-up. Shouldering her rifle, she dashed down to him as he surveyed the scattered, unconscious soldiers. He didn't seem remotely fazed by the cloud of dust she kicked up, even when it bombarded his back and coated the back of his head. "Found ya, didn't I?"

While Snake wasn't exactly openly vocal at all times, Quiet found herself enjoying the few times when he would make dry remarks about the task at hand. Slowly clapping her hands, she humored his effort. She thought she heard a chuckle coming from him, but put if off in exchange for purposefully grabbing his behind. The yelp that escaped from him offered no small amount of mirth to her, but the look on his face as he whirled around was the icing on the cake. "Quiet!"

Scoffing softly, the culprit raised her hand, revealing why she had done what she did; clutched in her fist was the bag of Fulton balloons that he normally had fastened…back there. Quiet took a second to allow him to collect himself with a mischievous smirk, enjoying the reaction she got from him. Snake sighed and gestured his arm at her, inquiring quietly, "I'm guessing you did that for a _very_ good reason. You want to help, right?"

A hum answered in the positive. "…Alright then. I've marked a few candidates on the iDroid. Extract them and meet me…here."

He clicked a button on his own iDroid, relaying the marked soldiers and the delayed extraction zone to hers. "I'm gonna scrounge around for a blueprint we could use back at R&D."

Without further comment, he wandered off towards one of the shacks that supposedly held the item in question. Something Quiet noted, however, was the faint blush that showed on his cheeks. Shrugging lazily, she tied the pack onto one of the spare equipment hooks on her belt and leaped to the waypoints Snake had shared with her.

The Boss himself was scouring the command building, taking small cases of processed materials that caught his fancy. He plugged in his headphones and ran through his collection of music tapes as he searched until he finally came upon a silver case adorned with a wrench. Snapping the latches that kept it shut, he took out the sizable folder with a blueprint sticking out of it. "Hm…this'll do."

Shutting it, Snake latched it onto his belt and walked back out, intent on finding the four-wheeler he marked earlier.

It didn't take too long to drive to where Pequod had landed, Quiet already having jumped into the chopper when he arrived. Heaving himself into his regular seat, he placed his weapons onto their respective notches in his makeshift armory and sat back, a deep sigh escaping him as he did. "Take us home, Pequod."

Quiet watched him intently as he checked the tape on his iDroid, noticing her stares after he was done taking his time choosing a new one. Slowly, he unlatched the iDroid from his hip and placed it next to him, but not before changing the speaker output to play out loud. Pequod looked back for a second but didn't comment as Quiet grinned and reclined against her seat, resting her foot on the opposite side. Snake half-smiled and pretended to study the collection of blueprints he had gathered. What followed was practically a confirmation that there was definitely some kind of chemistry between the two; gazes wandered, eyes met, and faces flushed with light blushes. It took Pequod a surprising amount of willpower to not yell at their antics, but he simply chose to smile for the two and where they were going.

It took a few more hours than expected to return to Mother Base, but return they did. As soon, as they had disembarked, however, they were greeted by Ocelot.

Quiet's attention was torn by the sound of a sharp, almost inquisitive bark. Turning, she saw DD sitting on the floor a few feet away, looking just as happy as he always did. The two hadn't gotten along from her first arrival at Mother Base, what with the poor dog witnessing her firing upon his master with high-powered, shoot-to-kill type rounds. Lucky for both of them, whenever Snake visited, he brought DD. The dog seemed to think much better of the sniper at present; maybe Snake was putting in a good word for her whenever he and DD went for long walks on the bridges connecting platforms. So here they were; a sniper who used a laser sight and hummed to talk, and a dog that wore an eyepatch and thought attaching giant balloons to things was hilarious.

Crouching, she offered a hand to the wolf. He sniffed the air around it before pressing his nose carefully into her palm. Letting out a growl of satisfaction, DD slipped his head closer to her palm in hopes of getting a scratch or two. Quiet smiled and ran her fingers through his fur, her expression turning into a sappy grin as he flopped down by her while Snake watched with a ghost of a smile. "Sorry about DD. He missed you."

Ocelot greeted Snake with a flick of his hand and a half-smile, even offering a polite nod to Quiet. "Welcome back, Boss. Got a challenge for you."

"Hm? What kind of challenge are we talking 'bout?"

"A rematch. Between you…and Quiet."

"And the occasion is…?"

"Your little day off got me thinking. Some of the soldiers from MSF that you found have been telling stories about how you and Miller wanted to have a day for peace. Why not implement that?"

"So…a vacation day?"

"Well…yeah."

Snake stroked his chin reflectively as DD nuzzled against his leg, Quiet having gone to watch how this little interaction would go down. "Solid plan, don't see why not. You'd have to run it by Kaz first, probably."

"I'll see what I can do. Till then, how 'bout the rematch?"

"Oh. Quiet?"

A low hum came from behind him, and when he glanced over his shoulder she was there, saluting with a playful grin as she imitated the greeting Snake received by every soldier he ran into. "You up for round two?"

A nod accompanied the next hum, the sniper standing perfectly to attention with her hands behind her back. Ocelot grinned and reached behind him, offering to Quiet what looked like a tranquilizer rifle. She took the gun and turned it in her hands judiciously, a smile present on her face at the prospect of new toys.

"This…is a paint rifle. We obviously can't blast you with live rounds, and rubber rounds could leave some nasty bruises, so we'll use paint."

"…What color is the paint?"

Count on Snake to have his priorities straight. "Pink."

"Oh, good."

"You're…not worried?"

"Why would I be?"

"…Never mind."

Ocelot pointed to the freshly completed Base Development platform strut, beaming proudly at Mother Base standing tall. "The struts and the main platform are the arena. You start on the third strut, and Quiet can set up shop wherever she wants."

He leaned over to whisper conspiratorially, "Top of the main platform."

"Okay…and what do I get?"

"Empty magazines and a water pistol."

"…I understand the pistol, but why-"

"Because they're cheap and we have a surplus. You'll figure something out."

"Glad you have faith in me."

"Yep. We'll have cameras running too, so we have something for movie night."

"….Also glad you'll find me getting painted entertaining."

"And you wouldn't?"

"…It'd probably be pretty funny."

"Good, you agree. Not sure if that was sarcasm, but you agree."

"Hm. I'm off to my starting point then. Is my equipment there already?"

"Mhm. Good luck. You too, Quiet."

Snake took his time getting to the loadout box sitting cheekily at the end of the farthest strut, kicking the bottom and, by extension, opening the top of the box. "And you weren't kidding…fantastic."

Fishing out the water pistol, he stuffed some of the empty magazines into one of his many pouches. The base-wide intercom blared out a burst of static, then Ocelot's voice came on. "On the blue side! We have our very own legendary soldier; Big Boss! On the red side! She doesn't say anything, she uses a laser sight, and she burns through more tapes than Snake does cigars! Quiet is ready!"

Snake groaned dully and holstered the water pistol, pinching the bridge of his nose at just how much fun the staff was probably having already. "This isn't a boxing ring…"

A flare from a familiar source caught his attention, and he barely had time to duck to the side as a paintball shot past him, blasting the box armory with a splash of pink. Flattening himself against the nearby wall, he muttered, "Wasn't kidding about the pink. Thanks, Ocelot."

Dashing out of cover, he sprinted towards the next strut, using the material containers as cover and crawling against the short walls that adorned the connecting bridges. Ducking another paintball, he dive-rolled behind another container and squatted next to the corner.

Experimenting, Snake tossed an empty magazine into the air where Quiet would see it. A bullet slammed into it and ricocheted it back straight back into his face. Snake was unfazed as it glanced off his forehead, his only reaction being not a pout, but an annoyed frown.

Because the Boss doesn't pout.

It took Snake about an hour to make it to the platform Quiet was camping at, and not without cost. The magazines had been surprisingly entertaining; useful for distracting her, much to Snake's surprise. It took his last one to get a show where Quiet would continuously fire at it to keep it in the air, ultimately letting it land in a small puddle of paint. Snake turned the last one he had carefully, deciding how it would come in handy. He was close enough to hear her inquisitive humming as her laser raved over the platform, searching playfully for her quarry.

Peeking out, he spotted her near the door leading to the core of the platform. A clever gambit; there was no way to climb up there without making a racket. Snake smiled grimly and stood, crouching slightly before making a mad dash around the edge of the platform, taking care to make sure she could see him. His plan was to force her to relocate by ruining her view of where he could be. It worked.

Quiet leaped across and landed gently on one of the containers close to where Snake used to be. She readied her rifle again but was caught off guard by Snake running at her in a seemingly foolish blitzkrieg. A shot rang out as she fired on him, but he intercepted it by chucking the magazine and rolling to the side. Quiet swallowed nervously; if she wasn't careful and tried to relocate, he would be able to-

"Freeze."

Quiet felt the butt of a gun tap against the back of her head, so she slowly set the gun to the side and turned around. Snake was standing behind her, framed by the sunlight and holding a pistol. "Kept you waiting, huh?"

Pulling the trigger, he blasted her with a jet of water. A chuckle escaped him as she 'drank' the water rather than be annoyed at his audacity. "Guess I won."

Quiet hummed in consent, nodding as she slowly picked the rifle off the floor and shouldered it. "Tell you what; follow me. I have an idea."

He led her to the top of the strut, where he crouched and motioned for her to sit behind him. "Balance the rifle here."

Snake patted his shoulder and smiled mischievously, an expression Quiet got to see every now and then, usually when they were alone. Another mental image for the collection, she supposed. Placing the length of the barrel comfortably on his shoulder, she giggled softly as she focused her sights on the target. "Let me know when you got it. I'll stay still."

She massaged his shoulder gently when she was sure of the trajectory, so he held his breath and pulled his binoculars out, watching where her target lay. A quiet _thump_ and a paintball fired from the rifle, and they both relaxed and waited for the results of their effort.

Miller was watching the proceeds of the soldiers re-watching the tape of the mock battle when a pink substance exploded against the window. He almost dropped his cane as Ocelot came up behind him and steadied him with a hand on his back. Adjusting his glasses, he cursed quietly as Ocelot failed to stifle a laugh. "I swear, I'm gonna-"

What followed would be difficult to describe, save for colorful curses and an elaborate threat with a cane. Pretty solid for a one-legged man who wore sunglasses to bed. The laughter of two people in particular rang merrily through the air as the sun started to admit the moon.

It was a few hours after dark when the door to Code Talker's lab, admitting a guest the old scientist enjoyed banter with.

"Ah. There you are, child. I had a feeling you would come."

Quiet strode into Code Talker's research lab with a gait slightly less confident than usual. Clearing her throat, she started slowly in Navajo. "How…did you know?"

"Would you believe me if I said…'lucky guess'?"

"No."

The elder let out a raspy chuckle and motioned for Quiet to make herself comfortable. "Then it was my parasites detecting your presence."

She sat on the edge of one of the many long tables adorning the room, pretending to examine some of the test tubes that Code Talker had used to synthesize his research. "What brings you here today? Are you ill?"

"Actually…I wanted to discuss something with you."

* * *

 **Wait; there might be some plot development twists? Whatever those are?**

 **Yes. Guess so.**


	4. Stuff Happens

**Hey, it's…it's a chapter! Whoa.  
**

 **The timeskips are denoted by the brackets, and I was worrying whether the chapter suffered as a result of that. I'm pretty okay with the end result, but leave a review or something if you think otherwise.**

 **Enjoy the read, I hope.**

* * *

"…You wish to undergo the Wolbachia treatment?"

A nod. "If I may…what changed your mind?"

A nervous shift, but there were Navajo words this time. "I…I no longer wish to be silent. I want to be able to speak without endangering those that I-…without endangering the Diamond Dogs."

That elicited a smile from the old scientist. "Very well, then. Obviously enough, yours is a very special case. Your parasites are quite unique in many respects. As such, I need a blood sample to study. If you wouldn't mind, that is."

Quiet tried not to sigh, but failed miserably judging by the amusement evident on Code Talker's face. Pointing a finger and making a rough jabbing motion at her shoulder, her fears were confirmed as Code Talker nodded. She hated needles.

[- -]

Ocelot nodded curtly to Snake as he strode up to him, handing over a folder filled with various reports and updates regarding Mother Base construction. The soldier scanned them briefly before handing them back. "Miller says there's no pressing matters for once?"

"Well…he was pretty upset about that whole paintball thing. Pretty sure I saw him smile for a second, though."

"Good. I'm headed out…still some things to take care of in Afghanistan."

"Bringing a buddy?"

"Think I'll let DD stretch his legs."

"You haven't been using D-Walker all that much lately."

"It's expensive to maintain. And it's not exactly subtle."

"Hmm. You have a point."

Snake nodded resolutely and rolled up the sleeves for his fatigues, flexing the fingers of his bionic arm experimentally. He watched as a few sparks flared from the wrist and listened to the strange whirring noise it emitted. "Any problems with that?"

"No. Works fine, it's just…hm."

"You miss what used to be there?"

"We've all lost something. Can't keep dwelling on what already happened."

Ocelot bowed his head slightly. When he saw Snake was walking again, he remembered and called out. "Ah, Boss, almost forgot to tell you. Quiet's gonna be passing off on the next few missions. Code Talker wanted to run some tests regarding her own, er…parasites."

"Hm. Fine. Report to me first regarding any incident."

"Worried about her?"

Snake stared at him for a good second before grunting noncommittally and calling Pequod. He gave a sharp whistle afterwards, shouting over his shoulder, "DD!"

The wolfdog ran happily towards him, circling his legs before hopping in the chopper as it arrived and sitting contentedly in the middle of the canopy. "And Ocelot?"

"Yeah, Boss?"

"I am worried. But I also know she can take care of herself."

Any response was ignored as he shut the door and sat back, leaning over to scratch gently behind DD's ears. "Pequod. Take us to outside the relay base."

"Got it, Boss."

He plugged his iDroid into the terminal that always lay next to his leg, scanning over the Side Ops he had yet to take care of. Nodding to himself, he ordered an upgrade to his tranquilizer rifle and more decoys. Lastly, he glanced to the side of his seat, a small box filled to the brim with empty magazines staring cheekily back at him; a result of a surplus of GMP and mischievous R&D staff. Chuckling lightly, he picked one up and idly tossed it from one hand to another, amusement dancing in his eye as DD followed the item's path attentively. Using as much skill as he had with a gun, he spun and juggled it neatly with both hands, a ghost of a smile on his face as DD wagged his tail excitedly. Pequod looked back once and smiled, turning his attention back to getting the newly-upgraded helicopter to the drop-off point.

[- -]

"You seem to be awfully fond of him."

Quiet looked up from the book she was reading; a gift she had 'borrowed' from the library that was collecting dust in the Intel Platform. Of course, no one would miss it, and she was following instructions to stay in the lab since then. She raised a curious eyebrow at Code Talker. "You know who I mean. Big Boss."

She gave herself credit for not blushing on command, but weakly denied it with a shake of her head. "You have followed him on almost every mission he asks you to."

She replied in Navajo; "…My abilities suit his infiltrations the best."

"And your little tete-a-tete on top of the crane? It's not as if he doesn't think the same of you."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"If you answer. I am trying to make conversation, so I apologize for being…insistent."

Quiet sighed and looked back at the book. "I guess…I do find him…interesting."

Code Talker nodded in a sagely manner; that was probably the best answer he would get. Kids these days…

[- -]

"Boss, I'm taking us back to base. You need some rest….and, uh…and a shower."

Snake moved his terminal to the seat opposite where Quiet usually sat and stretched out on his own seat. He normally would have complained against the notion, but he was half-collapsed from two days straight of missions and he couldn't deny that he smelled bad. At least, judging by DD's reaction. The wolfdog sneezed and shook his head fiercely, but still found the decency to look as eager as ever to help. "I…fine. Take us back."

He brushed some sand and mud off his brow; evidence of his misadventures in both Africa and Afghanistan. A change of clothes and any kind of shower sounded good right about now. "DD. Make sure Pequod doesn't do anything while I sleep."

DD barked in reply; Snake could count on him. "Good dog."

A soft thump emanated from the seat as Snake dropped his head back and closed his eyes determinedly.

[- -]

Quiet idly played with the tape resting between her fingers, the contents waiting inside only known to her. She sat on top of the Command Platform, knowing by practice that Snake always landed there first, unless he had a very good reason not to. Her hand rose to undo the tie for her ponytail, sighing softly as her hair fell gently against her back. She took a quick douse of the canteen Snake had given her and sat still for a few minutes to absorb some sunlight.

Looking up, she noted Pequod's chopper had arrived over the horizon, so she tracked its descent until she saw Snake disembark. She winced softly; he looked like hell. He was caked from head to toe in varying degrees of grime, and his slight slouch practically screamed that he was in need of a bed. Or a strong drink.

He probably smelled awful, too.

A brief thought wandered into her mind about inviting him to use her personal shower. A thought that somehow merged into one that involved her being in there with him. And then…any fantasies she was having were quickly quenched by the fact that it was an open view. Where anyone could walk in. And then there was that cat guy who liked interrogations.

This was a problem, so she dismissed it. Maybe another day.

She tied her hair back into a messy ponytail and stood, intent on heading back to her cell. But…not before doing one little errand.

[- -]

Snake sighed as he shook the water out of his hair, not unlike a puppy. He had changed into a black shirt and a new pair of fatigue pants as he found his personal room. While he normally didn't care for it, his weary mind locked on to the idea that it would be nice to use at least once. As the door opened for him, he noted that there was a bottle of alcohol that he was sure was not there before. A card lay beneath it. Depicted on it was a butterfly floating easily above a snake, the snake's head pointing neatly towards the bottle and the glass tucked behind it. Scoffing and smiling, he popped the top off and poured out half a glass, murmuring to no one in particular, "Guess you're good to go again, huh."

Sitting on the edge of his cot, he downed the drink and laid down, sighing as he closed his eyes, tossing his eyepatch onto the opposite end of it. He wasn't exactly one for drinking, but one couldn't say that he didn't appreciate one after a gauntlet of missions that basically amounted to busy work. Idly tapping his fingers against the frame of the cot, he found himself drifting off relatively quick.

[- -]

He woke up the next morning feeling much better, both physically and mentally. Making his way out, he saw that Pequod and his chopper were already waiting. Stopping just short of the helipad, he nodded toward nowhere in particular. "Enjoy your vacation?"

Uncloaking, Quiet threw a mock salute and nodded, assuring Snake that she was good to go. She turned and hopped into the canopy, smiling softly at Pequod, who responded with an over-the-shoulder thumbs up. Snake followed her shortly, seating himself and offering her a file that he had left for later through the iDroid.

"Mission today's pretty simple. Should be perfect to get you back in good form."

Quiet nodded her thanks, despite feeling perfectly fine. She could probably take on OKB Zero if they were feeling up to it. "And, uh…thanks for the drink yesterday."

That got a smile out of her, and she hummed happily as she reclined on his seat and crossed her legs.

[- -]

"Tell me what I'm looking for, Kaz."

"Find and extract a missing CIA agent. He was in hiding until the Soviets recaptured OKB Zero, but, er…His VI's on your iDroid."

"I see it. This shouldn't take too long."

"Good luck, Boss."

Snake disembarked with Quiet behind him, motioning for Pequod to leave for now. "Be careful down there, Boss!"

Snake took out his iDroid and relayed markers to Quiet, murmuring his instruction as she scouted next to him. "We'll clear out the nearby guard station, scout for the agent from there. Here. That spot should be ideal for cover fire."

Quiet stood over his shoulder as he expanded the map, watching as he pointed to a nearby Cliffside. Frowning, she gently redirected his hand to another point, giving him a salute of approval before dashing to where she had designated. Snake watched the dust trail for a few seconds before sighing and holstering his iDroid, drawing his new tranquilizer pistol instead.

[- -]

"So…did you hear about the guy who's running around the region lately?"

"You mean Big Boss?"

"Yeah, I guess so. The soldiers he leaves behind are still healing from his attacks."

"Huh? Why?"

"Apparently they heard him coming, but before they could do anything-"

"He shot 'em in the knees."

"What? No. He uses tranquilizers. Anyway, before they could do anything…he, uh…punched them in the face."

"…They're complaining about that?"

"Well, it was with a metal arm…"

"Wait, wha-"

The rest of his question went unheard as Snake's fist slammed into his face, his buddy soon meeting the ground with him as a tranquilizer whistled through the air. Snake caught them both with his palms and eased them gently to the floor, checking the pulse of the one who fell victim to his fist. Quiet watched and scanned the camp as he nodded in satisfaction and strapped Fulton balloons to them. Crouching, Snake checked through his scope for any sign of the agent in the given intel area. "Quiet."

An answering hum. "I found our guy. Walker Gears closing in. I count two of 'em."

Quiet checked the area he was talking about, noting a third Gear coming over one of the sand dunes. "Cover me if it gets to that point. I'm getting him out before they find him."

She hummed and adjusted her aim to one of the approaching Gears, the one that was closest to the agent in distress.

Snake ran as fast and low as he could to where he spotted the agent, taking care to avoid the lights still shining from the camp behind him. Drawing his pistol, he made his way behind he first Gear and grabbed the pilot. Throwing him bodily on the sand, Snake mounted him with a knee in his gut and a barrel in his face. "Start talking."

The soldier was stammering with a strange mix of admiration and fear; nothing useful. Snake stood and motioned for him to turn over. As his victim complied, he went on his way and slapped a balloon onto the Gear. He managed to avoid the second and third one when he found the agent. "I-if you're gonna kill me, then just get it over wi-"

" _Acting_ brave is a bad idea. I'm here to get you out."

"How? We're surrounded-"

"Like this."

Snake attached a balloon to the poor agent with more cheer than actually necessary, even waving slightly as he shot into the sky. His radio crackled to life as Kaz called. "Huh. Good job, Boss. Now get out of the hot zone."

"Yeah."

Snake designated a landing zone and directed Quiet there before breaking into a sprint when he was out of viewing range. He noticed the sniper met him ahead of time, nodding politely as he holstered his gun. "Told you it'd be easy."

Quiet shrugged and shouldered her rifle, humming softly as she waited for their ride home. As weird as it sounded. Snake noted her change in posture, but said nothing, idly tugging at his glove and flexing his bionic fingers.

[- -]

"Boss. We're almost back at base, but, uh…the rain's coming down pretty hard."

"That's fine. Drop us off, then get something to drink. We're taking a break from operations for a while."

Quiet perked up as the pilot mentioned rain, her excitement only growing as she threw the door to the chopper open. She smiled to herself as Snake held her arm to keep her from falling out, but she shook him off and offered a thumbs up to let him know she'd be fine.

And then she jumped.

"Hey- wait!"

He could only watch as Quiet fell out of the canopy, only to land easily and start dancing around. He flushed slightly as she threw off her leggings and boots. "Take us down, quick."

"You got it, Boss."

Quiet was in the middle of playing around in a growing puddle when she noticed Snake coming up, having collected her boots as he offered them to her. She stepped back quickly and cloaked, only to appear again and put a hand on her footwear. She looked from the boots to Snake, who fidgeted awkwardly before she stepped back and splashed him. He stepped back in shock for a moment before carefully setting her boots down and dodging another attack. Quiet grinned and used her arms to toss more water his way, three graceful motions putting him on the defensive.

Snake smiled slightly as he backpedaled from another splash, this time retaliating with his own jump into a puddle. Her smile grew as he fought back, scooping low to toss some water at his face. He blocked it with his arm, kicking a small wave at her before stomping the ground and raising a bigger one. They played for a while, free from worry and uncaring of the world around them. For now, they were just two friends playing in the rain.

Quiet slipped a bit as she tried to splash him again, but Snake caught her arms in a gentle grip. The sun started to peek through the clouds as he froze for a second, caught in her gaze as he himself regarded her. From the comfortable distance she was from him, she could see he was swallowing nervously as his hands held her arms a bit tighter. Quiet could tell from the hesitation in his eyes that this was about to go nowhere; it was now or never. Half-closing her eyes, she leaned forward slightly and touched his elbows. To his credit, he only recoiled slightly before stopping and tentatively mimicking her movement. As his hand reached up to brush against her shoulder, he mused about her breath quickening as their foreheads pressed together. Deciding definitively to make the jump, he pressed his lips to hers.

She was warm. That was the first thought that popped into his rather distracted mind, but he was still able to ponder whether or not she was always like this or because of the photosynthesis, but…it was interesting.

Reluctantly, they parted. Snake stepped back and, before Quiet could react, picked up her boots and poured out some of the water that had accumulated in there. His voice was low when he said, "Sorry, I…don't know what came over me."

Quiet was wrestling with whether she should speak or not, but she instead took the boots carefully and eased them to the floor before putting her hands on his broader shoulders and kissing him again. Snake was quicker on the uptake this time, but his hands were on her arms, as if to push her off. Her worries were soon rid of as he changed his mind as pulled her closer, almost roughly. She was caught off guard as he tilted his head slightly, allowing more opportunity to experiment with the whole deal. Not wanting to lose this battle, she gave as much as she got. They stayed like this for a few more moments, before Snake let her go again. His senses seemed to snap back into focus as he stepped back and muttered an apology.

He coughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "So…that was something."

Quiet nodded quickly, smiled bashfully, and shook off her boots again, slipping them on and wincing at how cold they were from the rain. She was about to leave to her cell before Snake interrupted her with a gentle shoulder tap. "…Forgot these."

He held her leggings out sheepishly, unable to hide a small smile as she snatched them out of his hand and phased out of sight. It quickly melted into a contemplative frown as he considered just what he had just done. He briefly considered the danger of what he exposed himself to when he noticed the tape sitting under an overhang a few feet away. Sighing deeply, he walked over and picked it up, noting the small butterfly emblazoned on the label. "Doesn't look like one of her music tapes…"

Placing it in the iDroid, he turned up the volume and started the tape.

* * *

 **Developments!**

 **Snake is fun to work with as a character. So many layers.**


	5. One Step Forward

**Kind of a shorter chapter, but it's more of a bridge for…stuff to happen. I wanted to name this chapter something dumb, but it was too long. Oh well. This came to me while I was messing around with boxes and their various shenanigans.**

 **Sorry for the late chapter and hope you enjoy.**

* * *

It didn't happen often, but Snake was uncomfortable. Not in the sense that he had gotten used to. No, he was used to crawling around in basically every kind of muck and utilizing some fairly unorthodox methods to get the job done. That was normal; hand him a cardboard box and he'd be content to infiltrate pretty much anywhere.

This was different. And he didn't exactly like it.

He wanted to confront her somehow about the chain of events from the other day, but it was hard to find a place to start. Whether it be their little tete-a-tete in the rain to the revelations her tape revealed, there was a lot bearing down on his focus. As such, he had ordered an extraction back to Mother Base after a few days of gallivanting in Africa. However, that didn't stop him from reviewing the details for the next mission.

"Quiet."

She didn't hum, simply looked at him in silent question. This was puzzling. If she didn't have the parasites anymore, why wouldn't she at least say something in response? "The two containers we're looking for are near the mansion. We can expect some heavy resistance, the contents are valuable."

She studied the map he was pointing to with patronizing interest, nodding judiciously as she memorized the layout. Snake watched her carefully, still unsure of what to do with…these new circumstances. "…Any questions?"

All he received was a surprised blink, followed by a hasty head shake in the negative. "…Good. We're postponing this until tomorrow."

The revelation was almost enough to make her shout an appropriately loud "what", but she was used to conditioning herself not to speak. As such, Snake's ruse was almost successful, but not quite. Whatever he was planning to say next was interrupted by Pequod's touchdown on Mother Base. "Quiet-"

She was out of the helicopter before he could say anything more, presumably back in her cell in the Medical Platform. "…Dammit."

Disembarking, he gestured for Pequod to head for repairs before heading to his quarters. He threw off his fatigues shirt and stopped as he noticed the bottle of alcohol Quiet had brought him from before. He eyed it with a glare unfit for the poor bottle before grumbling irritably and devoting himself to ignoring it. Sitting in that chair near his overly formal desk, he reran the tape he found from Quiet and relaxed, tapping his hand rhythmically against the iDroid.

Sounds of scuffling and static filled his ears again, and his hand twitched slightly in annoyance before a faintly familiar voice came cleanly through the audio. _"…I-…I did not choose to be Quiet. I wanted to express my feelings to you, but…my past decisions…my fixation on revenge…they stopped me from doing so. You see, I…I possess a strain of the vocal parasite…the English strain. If all else failed, I still would have the ability to kill you. To destroy everything you have built until now. But…I couldn't. Not after I saw who you were, and not after everything we did. So…I spoke to the old scientist. I asked him to give me the same procedure as your soldiers. I want to be one of you, and maybe this is the first step I can take. I…I don't know what else I can say, other than…"_

The tape ended there, something he found strange. What did she want to say?

"…Dammit."

Snake threw his headphones onto the desk and pocketed his iDroid, throwing the door to his quarters open and walking…straight to a delivery point. Readying one of the boxes he had set for shipping, he crouched inside and reveled in the inner peace he felt from the magical power of the cardboard.

He could tell from the usual impact of his box hitting the floor that he had arrived at his destination. The top of the box popped open as he stepped out, effectively shocking one of the patrolling Diamond Dogs, who threw a shaky salute despite himself. "G-good one, Boss!"

Snake regarded him carefully before nodding and returning the salute. "As you were."

The Dog nodded and resumed his patrol as Snake hopped over the railing above Quiet's cell, squatting over the top of the metal mesh and staring down at its occupant. "Quiet."

The sniper started in surprise and looked up at him from where she was sitting on her bunk, gazing at him in pure exasperation. "Come with me."

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and started walking away, clearly expecting her to follow without objection. She sighed and phased out of the cell, following him with a brisk jog to keep up. The soldier Snake had scared saluted another Dog before asking,

"Why did we even bother putting her in a cell if she can just break out whenever she feels like it?"

"I dunno. Hell, the Boss encourages it."

"Maybe she gets a kick out of it."

"…Maybe he gets a kick out of letting her get a kick out of it."

"Wait. Maybe they're just trying to piss off Commander Miller."

"Yeah, that's why they get a kick out of it."

"…Those two are weird."

"You're talking about a guy who kidnapped us with balloons, regularly beats up patrollers, and smokes super cigars. And a plant-lady. Of course they're weird."

Snake motioned for Quiet to stand next to him as they reached the top of the Command Platform, out of sight of anyone on the strut. He contemplated lighting a cigar, but relented with a chuckle at the face she made at him. Pocketing it, he flexed his wrist before saying without an ounce of hesitation, "…Do you regret what we did in the rain?"

Quiet raised her head from the bullets she was playing with; that was…unexpectedly blunt. She tried to shake her head, but Snake held up his prosthetic hand in a halting gesture. "Why aren't you saying anything? You got the Wolbachia treatment, right?"

How did he know that? Did he get the information out of Code Talker? Or…maybe he knew her plan the whole time. Experimentally, she shook her head in an attempt to dissuade his theory.

"Oh? That tape you left said otherwise."

…What tape?

Quiet blinked at him before freezing and blushing heavily; that tape. The one she had recorded hastily and poured far too much thought into whether or not she should give it to him. The one she had forgot to retrieve after their shenanigans in the rain the other day.

…That tape.

"…Was I not supposed to find that?"

She considered him briefly before nodding, deciding that it was better to be honest with the guy who made a hobby out of getting information out of soldiers and subsequently slapping a big balloon onto them. As entertaining as it was parachuting into a battlefield, Quiet wasn't sure she'd enjoy being whisked into the air at an absurdly high speed.

"Sorry, but I listened to it. Thought you left it for me."

That was understandable. He was used to scouring enemy camps for intel and blueprints; she also saw him tearing down those weird posters that one soldier insisted on pasting on the Command Platform. "So…you had these vocal parasites, but you chose to…get rid of them."

A nod. "With Code Talker's help."

Another nod. "And you're the one who told him specifically not to tell me."

A very slow and hesitant nod. "…Okay then."

Snake nodded in satisfaction and leaned on the wall again. It was a moment before he spoke again, one that Quiet used to consider cloaking and running away. Alas, he was talking again soon enough, and she would catch some kind of hell for ditching him anyway. "So you can talk now."

Here he was, putting statements out there and generally talking much more than he normally bothered to. He was putting her on the spot while maintaining an absurdly calm attitude, and it was frustrating. So, she fell back on her tried-and-true method of answer; nodding. "Then how 'bout you answer my question. With words, preferably."

This was…a dilemma. Quiet wasn't sure if she wanted to start talking; she was worried some kind of retribution would arise if she dared to speak again. After all, the last time she did, she was trying to kill him in some hospital that was going to burn anyway. "I'm not trying to interrogate you. I just want to hear you say it."

Quiet raised an eyebrow at that; something about that sounded…contradictory. He chuckled dryly at her confused expression, but his voice was gentle as he said her name. "Quiet?"

He was close, and it was becoming harder and harder to play coy, however much she wanted to. His eye stared impassively at her, but he may as well have had two with how intense his gaze was. No doubt he had time to practice when training recruits and generally being himself.

It was hard to tell whether this pressure was purposeful on his part.

Her mouth opened slightly as he narrowed his gaze carefully, leaning just a bit closer as she opened her mouth a fraction. Military training and XOF's mental conditioning were quickly being broken down in a ridiculously simple situation. Mouth was dry, mind was fumbling, and Snake was still watching her as a predator would watch a prey that knew it was cornered. He wanted her to talk, and she was convinced that she'd fall for his methods much faster than the ocelot's. "Do you?"

His question rang louder in her ears than he had meant in his low murmur, and whatever reservations she had about this whole ordeal crumbled. Her voice finally came out in a breathy whisper, but all she said was…

"No."

He might have allowed her to see one of his rare smiles at those words, this time one of relief, but her lips on his quickly ended any notion of that happening. He settled for wrapping an arm around her slender waist and letting her lean comfortably into the kiss. It was as if a barrier was torn down and everything Quiet wanted to say could be said with no worry. Maybe it was Snake's insistence or just how she was just plain attracted to him, but she wasn't afraid to say whatever needed to be said. Not now, though; they were both basking in this newfound comfort. She hummed softly into his mouth as his hands twined at the small of her back, encouraging her further.

This was different. Not that it mattered; it was a satisfying change.

* * *

 **Nightly bursts of inspiration are becoming habitual for me and I'm perfectly okay with that. I'll be honest, this took a while because I wasn't sure how to make Quiet's tape seem…not terribly written. When I proofread, a lot of what I write seems worse than it actually might be.**

 **I hope this chapter wasn't too sappy or if Snake (or Quiet) was too OOC. If you want to critique on how well I'm doing with this, feel free.**

 **I wanted to thank you all for the positive reception for my first MGS fanfic. Makes me feel more welcome in series other than Persona.**


	6. Intermission

***insert obligatory joke about waiting and how I have kept you in that state***

 **BEEN a while. Sorry, I just...lost motivation to work on this for a while. How time flies, huh? I look at the last time I updated and it was legitimately last year. I probably would've taken longer to throw this out, but then I went back over the reviews.**

 **You guys are awesome.**

 **Real talk, though. This chapter will be pretty underwhelming, but it's more of a stepping stone for future events. I've been out of this story for a while, so I'm feeling a bit rusty. All my fault. I might be getting a bit in over my head here, but...I'll see where I can take this, huh?**

 **Don't let me keep ya. enjoy.**

* * *

Snake grumbled incoherently as he twisted his prosthetic arm, earning a look of concern from Quiet as she rested her legs on the table she was sitting at. He looked up at her and shook his head, grabbing the metal arm and forcing the wrist back into place. "It's nothing, just...it's acting up again."

"Mh."

Quiet nodded and closed her eyes, relaxing easily due to the open window next to her. She'd been spending more time in his quarters rather than her cell, and the elevation combined with the nice view of the sea were some fairly strong indicators that it was a solid idea. Snake, of course, barely cared for the place, but having her there led to him using it more often. The company made it easier to live in the unnecessarily large office, so he didn't mind resting there as much over the infirmary. Grunting again, he picked up a map of the African estate and mentally traced the path to the containers he'd be looking for once again. Quiet watched him for a few moments before cloaking and silently padding over. A gentle poke at the back of his head let him know she was there, but what he didn't expect was what came next.

"Hey…"

Quiet slid gracefully onto his lap and plucked the map out of his hand, smiling at his puzzled look as he watched the map move strangely from his grasp to the table. Snake was still relatively awkward with this new situation, but he was getting used to the slow pushes she often gave him when they were alone. His hand came up to pull the tie out of her ponytail, smiling softly as her hair fell down on her back. She cocked her head slightly and made a curious noise as he let his hand rest on her nape, the other coming around her waist and settling gently on the small of her back. Her expression slowly grew into a smile as he muttered, "We have a mission tomorrow…"

"Hm."

She captured his lips as she settled more comfortably on him, the long-sleeved shirt and cargo pants he was wearing for the day acting as a decent seat as he shut his eye and pulled her closer.

[- -]

A thumbs-up from Quiet let Snake know that the coast was clear, and it was safe to extract the first container. He stepped carefully over the fallen soldiers, whether they were knocked out with a tranquilizer dart or a fist to the face. A balloon carried the container out of sight as Snake ran towards where Code Talker said the other container was. His iDroid intel read out that it was just ahead, and he slowed his pace upon connecting his surroundings with the map.

"I'm holding here. Let me know if you see anything new."

"...Hm."

Snake dropped into a crouch and pressed himself against a tree, leaning around the side and eyeing the soldiers patrolling the path leading to the last of the targets. Circling around the tree as he noted a soldier approaching, he ducked forward and grabbed his back, pulling him back and slamming him heftily onto the ground. He sat back into his original position as if nothing had happened, dragging the unconscious soldier beside him with a quick tug. "I'm moving up. Watch for me."

A hum rang slightly in his ear as he went prone and counted on his green fatigues to help him blend in. He crawled as fast as he could while remaining inconspicuous, keeping his eye trained on one of the soldiers who was lighting a flare for a pickup of the last container. "Hm. Running out of time. Quiet, take any who aren't wearing a helmet."

"Mhm."

Snake dashed out of cover as soon as he saw a soldier drop with a dart embedded in his neck, punching a riot trooper's helmet hard enough to spin it around his head as he fell. He parried a gun butt and introduced his fist to another's face, stepping back as his partner fell to another dart. His prosthetic arm let out a dull his as he clotheslined one more, ducking and sweeping the legs out of the last guard as Quiet shot him.

"!"

"Hm?"

Snake turned to see a soldier fumbling with his gun in an attempt to hold him up.

 _...Johnny?_

Hooking a balloon onto the materials container, he stood and faced the hapless soldier. Ducking slightly to the side, he pulled out his extra pistol and blasted the guy in the face with a jet of water. While he was reeling, Snake put a finger to his ear and asked, "Any ideas?"

"Mh?"

"Yeah...it's kinda funny, but we need to leave…"

Quiet hummed inquisitively in his ear, and he shrugged, certain that she saw that he was having trouble deciding what to do. A green laser trained on the back of the now-scared soldier's head, but he waved her off, taking a moment to splash him again. Snake sighed and slapped a balloon on the front of the soldier's vest, knocking him out with a swift kick downstairs. He mock saluted the unconscious man as he was launched into the sky, a gentle giggle coming through his radio as he crouched again. "That's both the containers, Kaz."

"Good work. I've sent a chopper to the rendezvous point. Extract and we'll see what our next step is."

[- -]

"...You know…"  
"Hm?"

"When you started using my office as your cell, I didn't expect you to start napping everywhere."

"...I nap in my cell already, don't I?"

Snake sighed and took a draft of coffee, not noticing Quiet watching him carefully. He gave her a look as he set down his mug, glancing at his iDroid before putting it down and asking, "...Yes?"

"I don't know."

"Why is it that you only talk when we're alone?"

"You're the only one that's aware?

"Code Talker is the one who started this whole thing."

"The elder doesn't exactly provide meaningful conversation when it comes to...anything that's not scientific."

"Right...because _I'm_ such a social butterfly."

"You're not a sniper rifle…" Quiet's mutter went unheard as she stretched languidly and turned to face the open window, the sunlight streaming in and coating her front. Snake valiantly fought the urge to stare, instead approving development projects for new struts and more powerful tranquilizer pistols. The way she was facing made it impossible to see that he had also commissioned an upgrade for the Guilty Butterfly. He glanced at Quiet and pondered that he probably shouldn't put a blanket on her if it meant stifling the sunlight flow. "We probably won't have any missions for a while."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Those containers were the last of Code Talker's evidence. Other than taking down rival technology, we have an open schedule."

"...'Rival technology'?"

"Tanks. Helicopters. Metal vehicles in general."

"...Right. Why do we shoot those down anyway?"

"I don't know. It saves time."

"It's loud."

"It's fast."

She sighed and turned to face him, giving him a pointed look as he stared her down. "You have no sense of grace."

"My tactics get the job done. I don't need grace."

"Punching people in the face isn't something I'd call a tactic."

He scoffed at that and took another drink of coffee, musing about how he never could have seen this coming; here he was, sitting in an office with a photosynthetic assassin and looking at a holographic display device while talking about battle tactics. Life's weird.

"You might think that. I-"

A small jet of water hit his hair, prompting a grunt from him as he brushed his hair back and set his cup down. Looking to Quiet, he found that she was standing and and had a spare water pistol leveled at him. "Getting a lot of use outta these, huh?"

"Mhm."

She shot him again as he snatched his from the table, firing water at her as she retaliated in kind. The little fight went on as it always did, with the room being drenched in water and a laugh or two echoing through the office. Quiet was, surprisingly, the first to run out of water, as she found out when she was cornered by Snake as she was firing. He took the pistol from her hand and wrapped a hand around her waist, pulling her against him with a smug smile. She gave him an amused look as he leaned closer, musing about all the cliches and just how well they defined this particular moment.

Then Snake's radio blurted out a burst of static, followed by Miller saying, "Boss...we have a situation. An urgent one."

Snake silently released Quiet, reaching to his radio and asking, "What is it?"

"It's the sickness...it's back. We're already reporting far too many infected for any of this to make sense."

* * *

 **I imagine the step-down in quality was...noticeable.**

 **Allow me to explain my logic.**

 **...That's about as smart as I'll sound for a while.**

 **On the front regarding the stilted sequence of events from one to another, I have two possible explanations. One would be that with how disjointed the missions leading up to op.43 is represented in the story with smash cuts. Another would be that I got lazy and just kinda threw them together because I'm inadequate at filling the blanks.**

 **My second tidbit of logic is in regards to why Snake likes punching stuff and getting caught. It's because I like punching stuff in the game. There's a novelty to having the Six Million Dollar Man sound play while one knocks a guy out. :)**

 **I'll do my best to get another chapter out, I'm just...lacking in motivation a bit. Please, bear with me.**


	7. Shining Lights

**aj472425, ask and you shall receive.**

 **Really, though, this was a long time coming, so I finished this as soon as I could. Thanks for all the support thus far, and I hope you enjoy.**

 **About the whole scene about turning the ashes into diamonds, I left it out because it didn't really fit well to me to just lift a scene from the game and slap it in the story with a little bit of Quiet thrown in. Instead, well...you'll see.**

* * *

Snake was silent as he walked out of the quarantine tent, blood splattered on his fatigues and a pistol hanging weakly in his hand. A rifle rested in his other hand, but he threw it to the side as the pistol fell from his grip. Soldiers saluted him as he passed, each of them wearing a mask while his own was wound around his neck. Ocelot was waiting for him at the helipad, joining Snake in Pequod's helicopter when it arrived. The Boss had lapsed into a solemn silence, one that was slowly broken when Ocelot spoke. "Snake."

"...Yes?"

"Do you...do you know how many were in there?"

Snake stared dully at him for a moment before looking down and tearing off his mask. "Too many."

"...I'm sorry, Boss."

"...Don't be. We have to give them a proper sendoff."

"Of course. I'll begin preparations."

He nodded curtly and sat back against his seat, unaware of the presence next to him that worried endlessly about his feelings.

[- -]

"We are Diamond Dogs."

Snake stood facing the sea as his soldiers gradually left, taking their assigned duties to heart with a dedicated silence. Soon enough, even Miller and Ocelot had left, and Code Talker gave Snake a solemn, sorrowful nod before taking his leave, too. So here stood the Boss, broken after the deaths of those under his command and with their blood keeping his gear damp and heavy. "I know you're there."

Quiet uncloaked slowly, thankful that he couldn't see the surprised look on her face with his back turned the way it was. "You didn't have to be."

"...I felt that it'd be...disrespectful to not watch."

Snake smiled sadly despite himself, knowing that her voice, however faint or weak it was from lack of use, was one that he would never get tired of listening to. She meekly hugged him from behind, her hands meeting around his waist as he made a low noise of either recognition or sorrow. They stayed that way for a few minutes, the sniper holding onto her soldier as his hands balled into fists. Eventually, she heard him murmur, "Someone will see you, y'know."

"I don't care."

He chuckled softly at that, letting one of his hands rest over her own. "Someone'll hear you if you start crying. I-I can hear your voice shaking."

Quiet smiled sadly at his ever-present dry wit, but she held him tighter when she heard his own voice starting to tremble. "You can cry, too."

"Hmf. Easy for you to say. I'm down one eye."

He moved her hands from his waists so he could turn and pull her into a tight embrace, and she felt something moist fall on her shoulder as he put a hand on the back of her head and pressed his nose into it. He wouldn't cry. He refused to. But whatever effect she had on him encouraged him to do so, unashamedly. So cry, he did. His eyes were closed now, tears flowing freely from his eye as she returned the gesture and felt her eyes burning at his sorrow. She ignored the blood of those that she would never know staining her bare stomach as she hugged him as tightly as she could without causing damage. "Thank you…"

His voice was hoarse as he mumbled into her hair, but she heard the words. That was more than enough.

[- one week later -]

Snake twirled a cigar in his fingers as he leaned over the railing of the Command Platform. DD had decided keep him company today, a gesture that was appreciated as the wolfdog rested his chin on the soldier's feet and rested there quietly. He reached down and scratched him gently behind the ears before picking up a conventional lighter and lighting the cigar. The two stayed there for an hour or so, until the cigar was simply a small lump of ash scattered to the wind. DD looked up at Snake and panted quickly, nuzzling the top of his head against Snake's knees and heading to a staircase. Snake simply watched him for a moment before DD barked and flicked his head to the side, as if asking him to follow. "You're leading the squad now?"

A bark. "Alright, then. Lead the way."

DD set off without looking back, so Snake looked out onto the platform one more time before hauling himself off the railing with a grunt and following after his charge. DD led him to the makeshift factory where the fallen's ashes were being converted into proper mementos. "This is where you wanted to go? You have some weird ideas of sightseeing."

"Ah, Boss. There you are, I was just about to send for you."

Ocelot greeted him with a curt nod as Snake walked over to him, and DD left soon after, having done his part. "I see DD's found out we were done."

"Guess so. They're ready, then?"

"Yeah. Here, this is a new patch for your uniform. A diamond's already been embedded in it."

"Practical. Looks perfect."

"Good to know."

"...Thanks, Ocelot."

"Of course. Oh, and here. A second one."

Snake took the second lone diamond with minimal hesitation, but not without asking, "What's this for?"

"I'm sure you know already. Consider it her initiation gift."

Snake looked at the diamond one more time before turning on his heel and giving Ocelot a polite nod as he walked back to his quarters.

[- -]

When the door opened, she was already there, sitting by his window and looking fairly melancholy. "Quiet."

"...Yes?"

"C'mere. I want to talk to you."

Snake sat at his desk, not even raising an eyebrow as Quiet hopped on it and crossed her legs, looking down at him with a small smile. He gestured slightly to the shine coming from his emblem, motioning for her to give her hand. When she did, he took it firmly and looked her in the eye for a moment. Quiet tried not to blush at the way her hand fit nicely with his, but she returned his gaze resolutely as he reached into his pocket. "I'm sure you heard my little speech about the ashes and the diamonds, but...I don't want the soldiers to view you as an danger anymore."

He drew a balled fist out of his pocket and shook it gently, smiling softly at Quiet as she looked at him in confusion. "This…"

Snake took her open palm and pressed something into it, bringing her knuckles to his mouth and kissing them softly as she closed her fingers around what was given. "...is for you."

Quiet fought the threatening blush and looked at what was in her palm, taking a sharp breath as she beheld a small diamond twinkling back at her. "You're one of us. I don't see why you shouldn't be entitled to a diamond of your own."

The sniper reverently turned it back and forth while she tried to decide on where to place it as Snake said, "Wear it proudly, okay?"

She found a small groove in on one of her ammunition pouches and gently pressed the diamond into it, smiling proudly when she heard a dull click and it stayed in place. Snake smiled for a moment and looked away, eyeing his own patch as he failed to notice Quiet shifting over to him. Soon enough, he found her in his lap, smiling gently down at him as her arms draped over his shoulders. "Hm…?"

Quiet didn't kiss him, not on the lips at least. Instead, she kissed his forehead, careful to avoid the shrapnel and his eyepatch's string. He seemed to appreciate the gesture, wrapping his arms around her slender waist and closing his eyes as she slowly leaned down to kiss him gently. She broke it quickly to murmur, "I'm here for you. Every step of the way."

Snake smiled softly and entwined his fingers with hers as she kissed him again, ignorant of the sun shining through the window.

* * *

 **Kind of shorter than usual, but I thought it was okay. Let me know how I did.**

 **Thanks for reading up till now. Be seeing ya.**


	8. Finally, Conflict

**Y'know...this was tough to think of. This story's supposed to be lighthearted, but the game makes it kind of hard to maintain that, as evidenced by my last chapter. The last chapter also detailed (...barely, but yeah) the events surrounding mission 43, and it doesn't take too long for the game itself to end after that.**

 **By this point, Quiet shouldn't even be here. So here I am, breaking kayfabe and not knowing what I'm doing. This chapter is slow, and not much happens, so in a way it's kinda fitting.**

 **I'm really sorry. Stick with me if you like, and I welcome any criticism. Thanks, and enjoy.**

* * *

"..."

"..."

Snake stared impassively at Quiet as she sat on his desk and let her eyes dart from the cup in his hand to his own eye. The steam rising from the mug acted as a sort of wall between them, but Snake could see the predatory gleam in her eyes as she leaned forward a bit. So, he took a sip and smirked. "Good morning."

"Hm."

"Did you want some?"

Quiet cocked her head slightly and stared at the coffee again. He watched her for a moment before adding, "It's black. Might be off-putting."

"Do you actually enjoy the flavor?"

He raised an eyebrow at how she bothered to talk over such a simple question. "Sure."

He took another, longer sip and put the mug down. Quiet hummed curiously as she felt the mug's warmth even though it wasn't even touching her leg. "How hot is that…?"

"Piping."

Snake stood up from his desk and turned to the window, opening the shutters and pulling his iDroid out of his pocket. He idly scrolled through some of the menus until he found the data regarding his new F.O.B. Interesting…

It would seem that resource production was-

"Ow."

Never mind.

Snake turned to see Quiet fanning her mouth, the mug sitting next to her other hand when she noticed that he was watching her with mild interest. She took a moment to stare him down before shrugging and muttering, "What? My taste buds still work."

Snake smiled and held up his hands in apology. "Right. Sorry. You go ahead."

Quiet watched him for a moment before reaching down and picking up the mug again. Snake offered a reassuring smile and turned away again, looking down and playing with the packet in his hand. He hadn't opened it yet. Wasn't sure he wanted to, anyway. The name on the top stirred memories that had burned to ash in his mind, and he quickly put out the fire before he got burned.

" _Boss."_

He tuned his headphones and answered who was calling. "What is it, Ocelot."

" _Some soldiers are being rowdy. Figured it'd be good for morale if you set 'em straight."_

"...Fine. I'll be there."

He turned to see that Quiet was trying out his coffee again, and he smiled slightly before returning to his regular stoic expression. She looked up at him questioningly as he headed to the door, her answer coming as he said, "Some kids are acting up."

It was raining by the time he made it to the commotion, with lightning beginning to streak across the sky. He shook some water out of his hair as he saw one of the soldiers down another with a hefty punch; he recognized the move as one he used often on his own missions. Snake allowed himself a small, proud smile before he whirled the soldier around and shoved him a few feet back. "Starting another fight, Dog?"

"You bet, Boss. Take me on?"

The soldier that "Dog" had knocked out rose, putting up his dukes when she saw that the Boss was here. "Settle it, Boss. Who's better?"

Snake didn't answer, simply scuffing his boots against the wet metal and ducking into a relaxed but ready stance. "Guess we'll find out."

He lunged forward and weaved around Dog's fist, uppercutting him and throwing him down. The other soldier, one he nicknamed Dragon, kicked forward, and he intercepted the blow with a raised knee. He turned on his other heel and grabbed her arm, applying a bit of torque and yanking her to a wall. He turned again and kicked Dog's foot away, leaning down and hefting him up, He threw Dog into Dragon, smashing them both into the wall with a shoulder tackle. They both dazily tried to swing at him as they fell, so he grabbed their hands and pulled them high enough for him to grab their necks. He looked them both in the eye and spoke in a tone that could best be described as a father scolding his children. "No fighting unless you have permission. Clear?"

They weakly saluted, so he dropped them both unceremoniously. "Good. Report to Ocelot later for your punishment."

He turned to leave, the crowd of soldiers dispersing as he muttered, "Probably'll just give you a stern warning and wag his finger at you."

"Hey- stop!"

He stopped and looked over his shoulder, his eye widening just slightly at what he saw.

Quiet was holding another soldier up by his collar, pressing him against the wall as he tried to knee her side. She blocked the attack, but held back her strength to avoid breaking his bones.

"Stop. Both of you."

Quiet's hand didn't leave the soldier's collar, and he, in turn, kept his knee against her stomach.

This was immature.

Snake glared at both of them for a moment and asserted, "Now."

The soldier in question looked at Snake irritably as Quiet lowered him back to the floor. Neither of them saw the shove coming as soon as the man had righted himself. Quiet stumbled back and fell onto Snake's arm, his hand going naturally around her waist to steady her. "What's going on here?"

At that moment, Miller decided to arrive, followed by a tired-looking Ocelot. Snake could see the former's eyes widen from behind his glasses when he saw just where his hand was. Miller took a moment to compose himself, before asking slowly. "What are you doing...? Don't you know she's dangerous?"

"She's not. And you should know this by now, Kaz."

"He has a point. She doesn't have any reason to betray us, now does she?"

"What are you talking about?! She works for Cipher! If anything, we should've killed her a long time ago!"

At that, he raised his cane and swung it and Quiet, and a loud clang rang out when it impacted. Quiet had raised her arm to block the metal, but Snake had intercepted it first, his prosthetic being powerful enough to dent the cane. "Stop."

"Boss, you know this is gonna bite us in the ass later, don't you? We have to end this now."

"You're letting revenge cloud your mind until you burn every single loose end to ash. If that's your logic, then we should execute every soldier that we've captured that worked for XOF."

Miller paused at that, the stares of the soldiers around them boring into his back. "You...you know that's different. They know who you are, what you did. They're loyal to you, Boss!"

Snake remained adamant, his hand grasping Quiet's waist a little tighter as he said, "And she is no different. You've seen the data."

Miller fumed at that, glaring at Quiet, who, while normally polite enough not to punch him, simply stared with hint of amusement at the color of his face. "Fine. Do whatever you want with your little girlfriend."

With that, Miller said nothing more as he turned and stalked off, leaving the crowd of soldiers surrounding Snake, Quiet and Ocelot to disperse. Snake finally let go of her, and Ocelot came forward as she stepped away from him. "So, you two are…"

Snake looked at Quiet, who blushed slightly and shrugged. "Yeah."

"I see. Well, I owe Pequod a hundred."

"Excuse me?"

"Men've been taking bets, Boss. You two need to be more careful if you don't want us to."

This...was something. "...Who's in on it?"

"You want a list?"

* * *

 **Uhh...yeah. If you thought the ending was kind of abrupt, then I don't blame you.**

 **Will there be some resolution between Miller and Quiet? Will Snake punch more people? What was in the mysterious package?**

 **Tune in next time to the next chapter of ADO; "*working title*"!**

 **Till next time!**


	9. After the Revelation

**Friends….if this story wasn't spoiler-y enough, this straight goes into the ending revelation. ALSO, sorry this was so late. I have a hard coming up with material for this story. I was thinking of going back to my roots and writing more lighthearted one-shots for this pairing. This has emotion tied to it, I think.**

 **Anyway, uh...enjoy.**

* * *

Quiet wanted to shoot something. Unfortunately, she was on base, so that might not be the best idea. Nonetheless, she frowned and looked up at Snake's quarters from where she was sitting on one of the base's cranes. Ever since he had opened that package, ever since he had seen that tape waiting for him inside...she had given him the privacy he asked for at the time, but she was beginning to think that wasn't the best idea.

He wasn't the same when she saw him again. There was a grim set to his jaw, and the look in his eyes hid some heavy sorrow. It was baffling. Just what was on that tape…?

Today she resolved to get some answers. Snake had finally left his room and given DD a passing brush on the chin as he seemed to make his way towards the Base Development platform. She caught up with him as he walked there, sitting on the top of the platform and sitting to stare at nothing in particular. As she stepped a bit louder to make her presence known, he muttered, "What is it."

Apparently he wasn't aware of just who was approaching, and Quiet noticed the subtle tensing of his back muscles when she stepped closer.

"I said ' _What?!'_ "

Snake turned and blindly swung his fist at whoever was behind him. His eye flew open as he felt his attack be intercepted, and he found himself swiftly flipped onto his back. As he shook the stars out of his eyes, he glared up at Quiet, who crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you want, Quiet?"

He regained his footing and dusted off his shirt, meeting her eyes for a moment before looking away bitterly. "There's nothing to say."

She gave him a look and gestured at his iDroid. He seemed to understand, and his face tightened in anger as he fished a tape out of his pocket and tossed it to Quiet. She started to play it out loud but brought it to her ear when he glared at her. _...It's the real Big Boss...apparently. But...this is ridiculous._

Quiet's mouth felt dry when she looked up at him again, stepping close enough to try and reach out to touch his shoulder. "Don't. Just…"

She could sense that his emotions were volatile, but she wasn't about to stand back and watch him suffer. "Snake-"

She reached for him again, but he slapped her hand away and took a stance.

Uh-oh.

"All of it was fake!"

His leg slammed into her arm just as she raised it to protect herself. She winced against the impact; the force behind it was a bit much despite her augmented strength. As soon as his foot found the floor again, he ducked in and swung low at her legs. She flipped over his and sent them both to the ground by forcing her knee into his back. While she gracefully spun back to her feet, Snake swiped at her with a quick kick as he jumped up. Quiet raised her foot to dodge it, kicking him with it while he was recovering.

Despite his apparent vulnerability, he still managed to block it with his flesh arm, grabbing her foot and yanking her towards him. Before he could throw her, however, Quiet decked his chin and weaved under his arm, throwing him to the cold metal floor. Snake performed a nip-up and glared at her. "Don't you understand? I'm not the legendary 'Big Boss'. I'm just an old soldier who threw himself in the line of fire!"

They stared each other down, one with an eye full of fury and the other with a look of sympathy. He growled and sprinted towards her, tackling her as soon as he was in range to dive. Quiet gasped as he back hit the floor, but she managed to kick him off before his fist could land where her head was. As she rose, she cloaked and dashed at him, the force behind her speed blowing him back. His back hit the wall, but he focused and swung at her with his metal arm. Instead of attacking, she simply blocked the arm, ignoring the pain, and stared intently at him. "So?"

Snake forced his arm to the ground, the remaining fight leaving his shoulders as he gazed at her warily. "...I'm not Big Boss. I'm not the- the 'legend' you fell in love with."

He gestured lamely at his eye patch and arm, defeat audible in his voice. "I'm just some...damn zombie that's still following orders."

That was enough.

Snake was sent tumbling to the ground by Quiet's fist slamming into his jaw. He stared up at her in a bitter daze as she knelt down next to him, taking his cheek in a gentle palm. "Maybe you're not Big Boss...but I don't love the legend."

His eye watched hers in confusion, still unable to process just what the hell she was talking about. She closed her eyes and bumped her forehead to his, murmuring in a tone only he could hear, "I love you."

Before he could say something appropriately stupid, she cupped his cheeks and brought her lips to his. His eye widened before slipping shut and pulling her close with an arm around her waist. Quiet was content to deepen the gesture for a few more minutes, but her eyes flew open when she tasted the familiar metallic taste of blood. Pulling away, she gently brushed her thumb against his lower lip and looked at it. Sure enough there was a small cut, and blood stained her thumb slightly. Snake seemed to catch on to this, dabbing at his lip and grimacing slightly. "You had to go right for the mouth, didn't ya?"

She smiled at that and took his hand in hers; at least his mood was improving. "I had to shut you up somehow."

He hauled himself to his feet with her help, and he scoffed softly when she carefully dusted off his shirt. "Thanks."

Snake winced as he took in a breath, gingerly touching his stomach and glancing ruefully at Quiet. "You hit hard. I think I cracked a rib."

She shrugged and smirked at him, offering a shoulder that he pushed away playfully. "Stop that."

As Snake shambled back to his quarters, Quiet glanced at the ring of soldiers surrounding them, spying Miller and Ocelot watching from afar. She made a shooing motion with her hand and stared pointedly at the two onlookers before cloaking and dashing away. Ocelot chuckled and glanced at Miller, nudging him and asking, "So. Still think she's here to kill us?"

Miller scoffed and turned, adjusting his coat as his cane found the floor again. "...No. But that doesn't mean we have to get along."

Ocelot blinked in surprise and grinned, something Miller seemed to catch on to when he snapped, "Shut up."

"Didn't say anything."

[- -]

Quiet watched as Snake put away the last of the bandages and general medical supplies. He straightened up from the cabinet he was squatting next to and rolled his neck. "What?"

She shrugged again and slowly clapped as he undid the iDroid from his belt and set it on the table.

"I was a medic, I can patch myself up."

"Does it still bother you?"

He eyed her warily for a moment and sighed, shrugging and leaning against the wall. "...I don't know. But I'm not as angry as I was."

Snake's smile was soft, but noticeable. Something glinted in his eye as he made his way over to where Quiet was. She smirked up at him from the chair and crossed her arms as he sat on the edge of the desk. He reached over and took her chin in his hand, leaning down to meet her eyes once before kissing her. She melded into it willingly, squeezing her narrowed eyes shut as he leaned closer and tilted his head slightly. He pulled away only slightly to whisper against her lips. "Thanks for checking on me."

He cut off her reply again by capturing her in another kiss, one she returned wholeheartedly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Big Boss's tape was still in her personal iDroid, and she briefly contemplated disposing of it before her mind focused on what was, at present, far more interesting.

* * *

 **...So that was a chapter…**

 **It's once again been a while, so let me know how I'm doing?**

 **Thanks, as always, for reading. I get notifications that people are liking the story so I had to write for this again. Thanks for everything, really.**


	10. It's Not Over Yet

**I guess you can call this a bridge chapter.**

 **I really have to apologize for the supremely slow updates. I've written out this chapter to be more relaxed than usual; somewhat of a trend in some of my shorts.**

 **...Should I write a version of episode 51 in this continuity? Eh, I think I will.**

* * *

"Boss. Mind if I have a word with you?"

"I'm listening."

Snake reloaded his pistol and fired at the three targets waiting in front of him. The bullets hit their mark near perfectly; but that wasn't enough for Snake. He dropped the empty magazine and replaced it with a fresh one, pointing it forward and at the ready before Ocelot put a hand on his forearm. "You've gone without rest for a damn long time. Now, I don't expect you to go and just take a nap, but I do suggest that you...find some other way to work off your energy. Develop a hobby or something."

Snake sighed, putting the gun down and begrudgingly nodding. "...I'll keep that in mind."

Ocelot bowed his head the slightest bit and took his leave. The words stewed over in Snake's mind as he tried to concentrate, but he had to choose between concentrating and becoming more frustrated or taking heed of the advice. With a grunt, he switched the safety on and slapped the pistol on the counter separating him from the targets. He wandered around the platform for about twenty minutes, with DD joining him after the first five. "I don't know, DD."

"Wurf."

"How do you pass the time?"

DD didn't reply, instead lying down and resting his chin on Snake's boot. He reached down to scratch the top of his head, muttering, "Thanks, pup."

He received no snarky remark, so he stood up and found his eye caught by something a few meters away. Five minutes later saw him sitting in the driver's seat of one of the spare 4x4's lying around the base. Snake sighed one more time before reaching down to start the engine. "This is a stupid idea."

[- -]

Quiet blew out a slow breath, pulling the bolt of her rifle back and swiftly replacing it as she eyed her next target. She took aim once again and fired the last shot in her magazine, destroying the last balloon and sending the last brig soldier straight into the waters around Mother Base. She bit back a laugh at the way he squealed on the way down. " _Okay, that's the last one. Nice shooting, Quiet."_

"Mm."

She shouldered her rifle and jumped off the crane she had been camping on, landing with a dull thump on the cold metal of the platform. She remained in a crouch when she heard something faint, putting her ear to the ground when it steadily grew louder. Upon recognizing the sound, she sat up and aimed her rifle in the direction it was coming from. Lo and behold, the origin of the infernal noise was a 4x4 being driven by...Snake.

...What?

He slowed to a stop beside her and waved awkwardly. "Hey."

Quiet simply stared up at him from where she was sitting, adjusting her grip on her rifle as she lowered it but otherwise saying nothing. "Join me?"

Quiet looked confused, opening the map on her iDroid and pointing at it. Snake simply raised an eyebrow when she shrugged, raised it higher, and pointed more insistently. "I don't need you to do any scouting. I'm just asking if you want to go for a drive."

Rather than wait around and watch Snake watch her, Quiet sighed and shut off her device, climbing into the passenger seat and gingerly placing her rifle in the back. Snake wore a ghost of a smile as he put his foot to the pedal and set off on one of the long bridges connecting one platform to another. "I thought you preferred to be shipped from platform to platform."

"Eh. Figured I'd find a pastime."

"...By driving around?"

Snake cocked his head a bit before nodding at her. "When I drive, I'm usually making an escape from enemy territory."

"And now?"

He used his free arm to shrug. "Just trying to relax."

"Mm. Consider me swept off my feet."

Snake simply chuckled softly and kept driving. Quiet watched him for a moment, watching the subtle shift of his body as he settled into the seat, keeping one arm on the steering wheel and the other on the door. She smiled to herself and relaxed her shoulders, kicking her feet up on the dashboard and sighing contentedly. "Swept off your feet, huh?"

"It _is_ pretty relaxing."

After a minute more of driving, Snake fished his iDroid out of its case and placed in where it would not be launched out of the vehicle. He played the first song in his playlist, smiling softly when a quick glance to his right told him that Quiet was dozing off. He slowed down just a bit but kept the car even, measuring in his head the time it would take to arrive at the Command platform, and by extension, his office. Maybe an hour or so, thanks to the length of the connecting struts and which platform he was on. That was...fine, actually. He straightened his back and adjusted the volume on the iDroid.

Maybe having a hobby wasn't as bad as he thought.

[- -]

They arrived at the platform at around the time Snake estimated, so he silently congratulated himself as he carefully lifted Quiet out of the passenger seat and headed up to his office. She stirred in his arms but otherwise stayed asleep, curling slightly in his arms as she was suddenly moved from the sun to the shade; the interior of the building. "Don't worry, we're almost there."

What he said was directed to her, but he may as well have been talking to a wall. Quiet slept heavily when she was comfortable. "What kinda sniper are ya. The End would be disappointed."

Whether she understood was up in the air, but she took a strong grip of his shirt in her hands and made some strange, sleepy noise. He kept walking, ignoring the quizzical stares of the soldiers on break in favor or heading straight to his office. Upon arrival, he set Quiet down by the window and opened the shutters, completely exposing her to the sunlight. He watched her use her hands as shoddy pillows for but a moment before grabbing the small pillow from his bed and tucking it under her head. Satisfied with his quick handiwork, he quietly sat further away and checked his iDroid for alerts, fishing a Phantom cigar out of his pocket as he did. "You're such a gentleman."

He snorted at the sound of Quiet's voice, glancing over at where she was lying down, the only difference being that her eyes were open and focused on him. She wrapped an arm around the gifted pillow and smiled slightly as he looked back down at his device. "Don't feel like one."

"I'd say that just proves it."

"Hm. Maybe, maybe not."

She quieted at that, simply watching him as he ignited a flame on the antenna of his iDroid and put it to the cigar he was now biting into. "You smoke indoors?"

"No. I pass time indoors."

He sighed and held the cigar away from his face for a second, seemingly thinking about some new dilemma. Quiet quickly found out that it was because of her. "Does it bother you?"

She shook her head as best she could from how she was positioned. "No, no. I've...come to associate the smell of wormwood with you."

It wasn't a lie. Given how fond he as of those cigars, it was only a matter of time before it became part of the personal little profile she had created of him. The strange compliment brought a small smile to Snake's face, and he took a quick puff of the cigar before nodding appreciatively. "I see. Thanks."

She didn't respond, instead closing her eyes and steadily going back to sleep.

[- -]

Quiet awakened slowly, apparently a few hours later if the weaker sunlight was any indication. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, only to pause when she saw Snake pacing and speaking into his radio.

"The kids, huh. Alright. Make sure our man gets taken care of properly."

Snake dropped his iDroid on the desk and pinched the bridge of his nose, effectively bringing Quiet out of her pre-awakening stupor. He noticed quickly, shaking his head and muttering, "Sorry."

"Don't worry. What happened?"

He heaved a weary sigh as he sat in his desk chair and scooted closer enough to reach over and brush some hair out of her face. He was thoughtful enough to use his good hand, carefully reaching back to pull her hair tie off. Her hazel locks, freed of their binding, fell gently against her back and the window sill.

...She was starting to think he was rather fond of the look. "That brat, Eli. Our missing pilot's been found. Alive, thankfully."

He shook his head again, barely suppressing a groan at just how absurd the situation was. "They're calling us out. At least, Eli is, and he's dragged the other kids along with him."

"When do we leave?"

Snake grinned, stroking her cheek with his thumb as her eyes shone with newfound determination. "Whenever you're ready. I'd feel a lot better about this if I had you watching my back."

She sat up, smiling despite the gravity of their new mission. "Let's go, then. Boss."

* * *

 **Mostly fluff, but yeah. I'll be giving the Phantom Episode my go of it. I'm truly sorry this took so long to write, and the payoff for you was so little. Hopefully the next chapter will make up for that, and I'm going to do my best to finish it in a timeframe that isn't utterly absurd.**

 **Thanks for reading, as always. Till next time!**


	11. Fatal Conflict

**There are, uh...really no excuses for how long this took. I can't vouch for the quality, nor do I think I deserve to.**

 **Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"Boss, we're almost as your drop-off."

"Alright, Pequod."

Snake fitted a gas mask to his face, adjusting the straps so it fit tightly against his hair. He checked his pistol and rifle one more time before nodding to Pequod to fly low. He crouched at the door as the helicopter slowed down, signalling to Quiet to get ready. "Bring a mask."

Quiet made a face, pointedly tapping his shoulder and making an exaggerated breathing in-and-out motion. Snake's shoulders slumped, and he nodded begrudgingly before focusing on the destination. "Right, you don't breathe. Fine, fine, suit yourself."

He hopped out, feet making a light splash against the marshy shore of the island. Quiet crouched silently next to him, hands braced against the mud like a cat until she grabbed her rifle and put it to her shoulder to scan. Pequod wished them both luck and made to leave, leaving the duo to themselves. For now.

Snake quickly checked his map and pointed to one of the supposed outposts Eli had set up.

"Scout ahead. Let me know if you notice any of the traps the pilot told us about."

Quiet grunted affirmatively, placing her rifle on her back and disappearing in a plume of dust. He watched the trail for a moment, setting off into a light run into the jungle. " _Snake."_

"Yeah."

" _Confirmed visual of at least one platoon of XOF soldiers. They're heading towards what looks like the northernmost part of the island."_

"North? Huh."

" _Mhm. I'll hold position for now, there are footprints by groups that may have already passed through here."_

"Thanks. I'll meet you at your lookout, then."

" _I noticed some strange vines, too. May be those are some of the traps. Watch your feet."_

"Got it."

Snake found the origin of the footprint trail minutes later, ducking into a crouch but not slowing down. He pressed his back to a tree and carefully peeked around it when he heard someone talking on the radio. "We've located the target. We have two squads circling around and waiting for a third….Yes, the last two have fallen to what seemed to be makeshift traps. Falling boulders, stakes, the like."

Snake couldn't make out who was on the other side, carefully stepping closer and drawing his pistol. "The losses are insignificant. We will move on as planned….Affirmative."

Just as the soldier put down the radio, Snake levelled his gun at his back. "Freeze."

The XOF soldier complied, raising his hands above his head as Snake crept closer; suddenly, his reflexes screamed a warning, and he leaned back as the soldier tossed a knife out of his sleeve and grabbed it out of the air, cleaving downwards onto Snake's head. Snake twisted his body to the side, letting his metal fist quickly whip forward in a brutal jab to his gut. A dull slam echoed gently through the air, and the specialist was sent crashing against the radio set his was just using. Snake quickly holstered his pistol and leaned away from a blind haymaker, jamming a thumb into the nerve bundle in the XOF's armpit. While he was reeling from the pain, Snake grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close. "Start talking."

Quiet leaned out from the tree she was nestled in, idly watching over the XOF patrol waiting to be joined by the third. She turned down the volume of her radio broadcast of Snake's live interrogation, choosing instead to listen for the sound of something approaching. She curled lithely into the tree and aimed her rifle downwards, counting on her augmented strength to keep the heavy firearm steady. Numerous XOF troops passed underneath her to join the ones that were waited, but Quiet noted that their formation was broken. "...Snake."

" _Yeah, just-...finishing up here. Be there in a minute."_

"Hurry. I have eyes on the platoon your friend was talking about. It seems that they've lost maybe two or three to more traps. Less trouble for you, huh?"

" _Hurrying. Stay out of sight."_

"Is that a joke?"

" _If you want it to be. Going silent for a bit."_

Quiet's earpiece fed her a light clicking noise to signify his point, so she simply watched the two platoons slowly set off further into the jungle, evidently wary of any more oncoming traps. She holstered the rifle and slid down and off the tree, landing silently in the marsh of their meeting spot and ducking behind a rock. Snake arrived by her side just as they moved out of sight. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder and silently asked if she was alright. In response, she simply smiled and brushed some drying mud off his brow and placed a gentle kiss there before jerking her head in the direction of the departing soldier. Snake nodded, pointing a thumb at the tree he assumed she was occupying, then pointing forward to indicate that she scout ahead through the treeline. He started moving again just as soon as she jumped back up, taking care to keep his footsteps silent as he moved through the marsh. He did his best to keep an eye on them, relying on Quiet to show him the way when he briefly lost focus. "...Kaz. Are the troops mobilized?"

" _We have all the choppers that aren't essential to base operation and foreign assignments ready to go. We'll be waiting on your call, Boss."_

"Good, thanks. Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

" _Well, he's got skill, and that's about it. Probably gonna leave himself wide open to show off his ego. Just watch out for the kids, yeah?"_

"Sure, Ocelot. I'll see if I can get them out before bullets start flying."

" _XOF ain't gonna make this easy. Either take them out or let them try and take down Eli. Gonna give you fair warning, those kinds of troops don't care about collateral damage."_

"Uh-huh. Guess we'll see."

A scream piercing the air pulled Snake back to the mission, but he was briefly confused by how some of the XOF's had disappeared into apparently thin air. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the barely perceptible pitfalls filled with large stakes at the bottom. "Damn...kids're prepared."

A whooshing sound caused him to raise his head just in time to see a large log swinging through the air, a soldier or two plastered almost comically on the surface. He quickly rolled to the side, raising an arm over his face as it crashed through surrounding trees, sending chunks of bark and wood everywhere.

Quiet slid off the tree limb she was sitting on and hung off the side to dodge the debris, dropping to ground level as she saw the XOF soldiers evidently rushing towards something. "Snake!"

"I see 'em. Go."

They both broke into a sprint, jumping over the scattered stake pits and fallen trees as trap after trap was set off. Suddenly, Snake felt something whip around his leg, and he found himself being dragged forcefully along the ground by the vine around his foot until his journey was suddenly halted. Quiet rushed over and retrieved her knife, taking Snake by the arm and hoisting him up. He nodded when she tried to look him over and gently nudged her back towards their target. Just as they reached what looked like an open field, Snake grabbed Quiet's arm and pulled her behind a rock for cover. "There's Sahelanthropus."

"Look. The XOF soldiers…"

The XOF troops were advancing on the seemingly derelict hunk of metal, guns at the ready at the first sign of Eli. "We need them out of the way."

"There's not too many left. We can just use CQC."

Snake smirked and gave her a look. "CQC?"

"Fine. You can punch them. I'll try to use some tact."

"Sounds good. On my mark."

The leader of the splintered platoon glanced back at his remaining troops, swallowing his fear of the arsenal of weapons adorning the Gear. "Move up."

Snake followed close behind, grabbing one of the troopers and throwing him back to Quiet as he seized another in a headlock and pulled him behind a rock. Quiet moved forward just as he dropped the unconscious soldier, leaping onto the back of one and onto another foot-first. Snake rapped the side of the one she used as a stepping-stone, throwing him to the floor with a hefty lift. Only the commander remained, so Snake broke into a quick run and introduced his fist to the back of his head. Quiet pulled the body out of sight and jumped into the treeline, levelling her rifle at the empty cockpit of Sahelanthropus. "I don't see him."

" _Hm...keep an eye out. I want to try and get some of the kids out of the line of fire."_

"Roger."

Snake made to move forward only to almost be thrown off his feet by Sahelanthropus awakening. "Damn."

" _Snake, I see him! He's entering the robot!"_

"Kaz, move in. Eli's gunning down the XOF."

" _I hear ya."_

"I knew you'd be through here!"

Snake turned to face Eli, gazing into the still-open cockpit as the White Mamba menaced him with the full power of Sahelanthropus. "You're not a kid anymore. You call your own shots."

He took out his pistol, checking its magazine idly as he said, "But at this rate you'll be dead before you even get the chance."

Quiet leapt from her lookout point into another tree, bracing her rifle on the sturdiest limb and taking aim at Eli. "I have a shot."

" _Don't miss."_

Snake's answer was subdued as he watched Eli rant, tensing his muscles as he sensed the murderous intent from the boy surge. "I will _break_ the curse of my heritage! And to do that...first, I will _kill_ -agh!"

A tranquilizer dart embedded itself into his shoulder just as the cockpit closed, and Sahelanthropus's glare darted up to menace Quiet. " **...You."**

Quiet shrugged and offered a mocking salute before cloaking and jumping further back into the treeline. It drew its whip and flailed wildly at where she last waited, wreaking havoc upon the tops of the trees as the sniper snuck down to meet Snake. "Fire! Aim for its weapons!"

He turned to her and nodded. "The damage should get him to pry open the cockpit. See if you can get him then."

"Right."

A barrage of missiles sailed into the Gear, denting and burning the already damaged plating and innards. Its whip blade was useless, but Eli was ready to fire again when the entire body oddly lurched to the side. "...Tranquilizer's taking effect. Kaz, I need another volley!"

" _Second chopper's comin' round. Be there in two."_

"Die!"

An armored fist crashed into the rock Snake and Quiet were hiding behind, sending them both back in a blast of debris. Sahelanthropus stumbled and fell, nearly crushing the two if Snake wasn't able to jump up and pull them both out of the way. A Diamond Dogs helicopter flew overhead, firing a salvo of fresh missiles into the downed Gear's back. Its systems damaged beyond operation, Eli was forced to open the cockpit and attempt to keep up his offense with his remaining weapons. Snake made to fire another tranquilizer, but a new squad of XOF soldiers attacked then from both sides.

Snake and Quiet stood back to back, firing at the newcomers before they could try to attack Eli. Then… a grenade sailed through the air, landing and rolling gently against Snake's foot. Quiet noticed and reacted first, grabbing his arm and throwing him a short distance away.

"Quiet!"

The explosion sent him flying back, his head colliding painfully with the floor. His vision swam, colors blending and mixing for a minute before he felt in control again. He fumbled against the earth, crawling onto his knees as he searched for his partner. He found her lying in a small cloud of dust and smoke, blood and cuts strewn across her body as she tried feebly to sit up. She was conscious enough to acknowledge him with a small smile before reaching into his belt and taking his spare pistol, pressing it into his hand when he tried to pick her up. "Finish...what you came here to do."

Snake blinked rapidly, trying to focus his vision as he stumbled to where Eli had fallen out of the cockpit, barely conscious and surrounded by XOF. He raised the pistol and fired, a bullet seeking out every white-clad figure in the area. His mind spasmed briefly as he levelled the weapon at one who looked like he was rising with a weapon, firing the last bullet just as his vision reoriented...and the color red returned to his world, and he realized what he did. A chopper landed nearby as he crouched down next to Eli, reaching down to take the pilot helmet off his head and check for a pulse. "...Still breathing…"

He glanced over to where his bullet had landed, cutting the material of the red suit he was wearing with his knife. "A vest. Kid was prepared."

Ocelot put a hand on Snake's shoulder briefly, nodding to his commander as he looked up. "Good job with the tranquilizers. Made this a lot easier, and we managed to keep our boys safe."

"And the kids?"

"Surrendered. We'll evacuate 'em before we sanitize the island."

"Hm."

"What about this one?"

Snake rose, taking the magazine out of his pistol and ensuring that one bullet remained. Satisfied, he dropped it next to the sleeping Eli and made to walk away. "His choice. Quiet needs medical attention."

"I'll call for a stretcher and a medic."

"...I'll patch her up myself.

"What? But...Boss, I-"

"Ocelot." Snake turned to look at his friend. "I'm trained. Know what I'm doing. Where's Pequod?"

He followed the pointing finger and located his go-to chopper, quickly making his way to where Quiet was lying and picking her up. She moaned weakly against his uniform as he ran to Pequod, carefully resting her on one of the seats. "You're gonna be alright. Was the best medic of MSF, y'know."

Despite the pain she was in, Quiet managed a light laugh before she coughed and tried to relax. "Good, good. Just stay still, gonna make sure there's no shrapnel stuck in you."

Quiet tried to stay awake and be as helpful as she could, but she slowly gave in to her hurts and fell into a deep sleep.

The sun had set when she woke up, but she found that she was seated in an oddly familiar, and comfortable, place. "Good, you're awake."

She looked to her right to see Snake seated nearby, nursing a glass of what looked like the same brand of alcohol she had pilfered for him way back when. "Feeling better?"

"Y-...yes."

She looked down at her body, carefully running her fingers along the swath of bandages around her waist and legs. "I assume the reason you're even in one piece is because your body is strengthened by your parasites."

Quiet's ears perked slightly at the slight irritation in his voice, accompanied by the light slur.

"I assume so. A-are you drunk?"

"You had me worried, dammit. Course I'm drunk."

She smiled softly at that, motioning for him to come closer. He frowned, but complied, scooting his chair closer and resting an elbow next to her. She moved close enough to pull him into a hug, letting his chin rest on her shoulder as she murmured, "Thanks. Maybe I should get blown up more often if it means you'll take care of me."

He scoffed, letting one of his hands rest near her smooth stomach. "Hmf. Don't even think about it."

For the next few minutes, Quiet simply held him and weakly patted his back, trying to ease some of the tension out of his back. She only noticed that he fell asleep on her shoulder ten minutes later. Not that she minded.

* * *

 **I feel like I've disappointed with how short the chapter was compared to the potential of episode 51 and that I've botched the ending. Let me know if you'd like.**

 **Aside from this story, I'm working on smaller drabbles that I can hopefully update more often than not.**


	12. Between the Lines

**It's been a while, eh?**

 **I'll be honest...for a while there, I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue the story. If I kept going, then I'd end up going all the way till whenever I deem Metal Gear 1 starts. Just writing that gave me the idea I needed, but with that comes the next bit: the next chapter is probably the last.**

 **This one here is just a bit of an intermission prefacing the end, because I feel that if I drag this on for too long then I would be beating a dead horse. Of course, I still adore these two, so mayhaps I'll write some shorter stories about them later on. Not some connected storyline, just...fluff.**

 **We'll see. Anyway, enough from me. Enjoy the intermission.**

* * *

"Snake."

The Boss said nothing, simply staring out over the waters of the Seychelles and bringing the Phantom Cigar to his lips to take a quick puff. "Snake."

"I hear you, Quiet."

"...The act of being quiet or me?"

"I heard _you_."

"Well, finally. You've been standing here smoking for over three hours now."

"Hmm...maybe I've been hitting the wormwood too hard."

Snake glanced at the cigar between his fingers and grimaced at the thought, dropping it on the metal platform of the Command Platform and squashing it with his foot. "You haven't slept for much longer either. How long has it been now, four days?"

"Four days, seven hours, and...twenty-eight minutes."

"Snake, we're done. You finished your mission. Found Eli, stopped Sahelathropus, all that. It's worrying that the most sleep you got was when your were drunk after you patched me up."

"Ah, that was somethin'. I haven't done something like that in a while."

"C'mon. We're getting you to a bed."

"But you just got here."

"I only checked on you every afternoon. No big deal, right?"

"Or maybe I just lured you out here."

Snake held up a detonator and looked over his shoulder with a subdued, but sly, smile. Quiet pushed herself off the wall she was leaning on and made herself visible, crossing her arms and cocking her head just a bit to show she was curious. "And what might that be?"

"Your present."

"Present?"

He pressed the button, and there was silence for a few moments before Quiet heard the telltale sound of a Fulton balloon activating. The strange part was that it sounded as if a ton of them were following suit. Suddenly, yet slowly, a multitude of Fulton balloons slowly rose, each weighed down by something to ensure that the proper form would remain untainted; a heart. Tacky as it was, Quiet was touched, impressed by Snake's little project.

A classic Pooyan.

Quiet would have laughed out loud if she wasn't aware that the noise would probably draw more unwanted attention. She walked to Snake's side, going willingly when he put an arm around her shoulder. His beard brushed against her skin as he murmured, "Be mine."

Sweet as that was, Quiet couldn't help but scoff lightly. "That an order?"

"Hm. Wouldn't hold it against you if you went against it."

"Well," She leaned on his shoulder and elbowed him playfully. "Doesn't chocolate usually follow?"

"Hmmm-might have put in a requisition order for Swiss chocolate a while ago. Just might have arrived already."

"I like the way you think."

"Course you do. That's why I'm the one giving the orders around here."

Snake smiled and turned, grinding his heel against the ashes of his discarded cigar as he guided Quiet to his office. The surrounding soldiers were just barely aware of the two, more impressed (or tickled) by the floating Fulton creation.

Which was fine. Snake felt that finally... _finally_ , he could take a day off.

* * *

 **That feeling when the author's note is about as long as the chapter...ugh, I feel bad about it.**

 **TvTropes says that the mark of a possible dead fic is the author saying that the they haven't given up. Of course, that instilled a sense of panic in me, because I truly don't want that to happen. I'll commit more time to this over Persona when I can manage, but alas...college.**

 **ANYWAY. Hope this was a nice little bite. I** _ **will**_ **see you next chapter. Have a good one, friend.**


	13. OTR 1: Born of Worry

**I played MGS5 for the first time in a few months. It was a good time; punched people in the face and trolled the masses with a water pistol and CQC.**

 **It got me thinking. I'll post smaller, more innocuous chapters here as...fluff, I guess. I'll label them somehow to set them apart from the main story. Without further ado, here's the first.**

* * *

Snake idly scratched his beard, staring at the screen of his iDroid for no particular reason other than making himself look busy. He thumbed through the staff menus, scrolling through the medbay patients and nodding slowly at the statuses of those admitted until he hit the most recent victim. A frown creased his face as he remembered the mission that had went so far south he was dully surprised he didn't find a new area of operations. "Uh...Boss?"

He looked up at the medical officer vying for attention, holstering his iDroid and standing to face the speaker. "Go on."

"Well, erm...Miss Quiet is stable, and her injuries are recovering far more quickly than we were expecting."

Snake held back a smile at the title attached to his buddy's usual title, nodding his head to urge the nervous medic to continue. "R-right. Uhh...right. I wanted to state that Miss Quiet has...fled the infirmary. I was assigned to monitor her every now and again, but she disappeared. Sorry, sir."

The medic stood at attention and waited for the admonishment that never came. "I understand. Good work, take five and get back to it."

Snake strode past the medic, patting his shoulder in passing as he stuttered out a "Thank you, Boss!"

As Snake walked toward the Command Platform, he pulled his iDroid and scrolled through the medbay patients. Sure enough, Quiet's name had disappeared already. A manual search revealed that she had been labelled as ready for duty once again, but he guessed that had not been due to convention. Snake decided to keep any conclusions to himself until he confirmed his suspicions, pocketing his iDroid and stomping up the stairs to his office.

Quiet lounged on her back, crossing her hands behind her head as the door to the office swung open, revealing a bedraggled and weary Snake. He raised a hand to point half-heartedly at her before reconsidering and sighing. "You're acting pretty lax about this despite taking a few mortars to the face."

"Hm?"

Quiet sat up and cocked her head in mock confusion, a coy smile on her face as Snake skirted around his desk. She swung her legs off the windowsill and felt her boots touch the floor just before he made it over, planting his hands on both sides of her and staring her down. They both knew she could simply disappear and dash out of the trap, but Quiet chose to stay out of a mix of curiosity and silent affection. "You were in the infirmary, should've been treated and all that. Yet I don't see a single bandage on you. No sign of being hurt whatsoever, so what's going on?"

Quiet drew one of her legs to her chest, smirking and pointing to the floor. Snake begrudgingly complied, glancing down and staring hard at the pile of discarded bandages piled under his boot. ...Uh."

She showingly raised her arms, showing off the signs of her rapid healing by way of the lack of bruises or scarring. When she was done with her little show, she smiled and rested her hands on his shoulders. "I believe the sarcastic answer would be to say they weren't very fashionable."

Snake shook his head and coughed out a ragged laugh, taking her gloved hands in his and holding them as tightly as he could without causing discomfort. Her unique condition, of course, made it difficult to show physical affection such as "Sure. And you still need some work articulating without body language."

"Seems we both have room for improvement."

"I guess we do."

Snake took off one of his gloves, biting the finger of his other one and pulling it off as he cupped her cheek. His other hand moved to caress the nape of her neck, pulling her close enough for their foreheads to meet, ever mindful of his shrapnel horn. "Don't do that again."

Quiet managed a small grin as her arms tightened around his shoulders. "No promises."

Snake mimicked her expression with some semblance of mockery, bumping his knuckles gently against her forehead before kissing her, letting his hands drop back to the windowsill as she hummed and pulled him comfortably against her. Snake smiled against her lips and pressed closer, deepening the kiss and pushing his hidden worry to the back of his mind. She was okay; that was a start.

* * *

 **I guess I'll start off with justification for the whole mortar thing. At one point in the game, I was infiltrating the airport in Africa, and...y'know, I got caught. Then they broke out the mortars. Thing is, Quiet caught their attention, so they started firing mortars at her. Maybe five or seven of them later, and she was extracted with grevious injuries. Of course she bounced back, but hey. Funny where ideas can come from, eh?**

 **On a more serious note (because being blown up isn't, obviously), I wanted to write something for this two. I just wasn't sure how to move to story forward. Given how much I had written for my more recent stories, I find that I'm much better at writing about nothing rather than something. This chapter is mild evidence of that; this took maybe half an hour. When I look at it this way, it's kinda sad how slow I am.**

 **I'll get over it, though. Somehow, somewhere, all that. Thanks to everyone who's read thus far, with particular gratitude for Sailor Star Dust for the kindness. See you all next chapter, whatever it may be.**


End file.
